US Vice Prez JD Vance Lands In Delhi On 1st Official Visit To India Amid Tariff Tensions

Vance and his family members are scheduled to visit the Akshardham temple.

JD Vance is accompanied by Second Lady Usha Vance and their three children -- Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.

Source : MEA

US Vice President JD Vance landed at the Palam airport in Delhi on his first official visit to India on Monday. He is accompanied by Second Lady Usha Vance and their three children -- Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel, who were dressed in kurtas and lehenga.

Vance and his family members were received by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and are scheduled to visit the Akshardham temple. They could also visit a shopping complex selling traditional Indian handcrafted goods, people familiar with the matter told PTI.

Vance's visit to India comes amid the growing tension over tariffs imposed by the United States. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a dinner for the Vances after holding wide-ranging talks with the US Vice President.

The Ministry of External Affairs said the visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review the progress in bilateral relations and the implementation of the outcomes of the India-US Joint Statement issued on February 13 during the visit of the Prime Minister to the US. The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest, it added.

After he meets with Prime Minister Modi, Mr Vance and his family will visit Jaipur and Agra.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Indian ambassador to US Vinay Mohan Kwatra are expected to be part of the Indian team to be led by PM Modi at the talks.

The focus of the meeting is likely to be on early finalisation of the proposed bilateral trade pact as well as ways to boost overall trajectory of ties between the two countries, the people cited above said.

Vance's first visit to India comes weeks after US President Donald Trump imposed and then paused a sweeping tariff regime against around 60 countries, including India.

Both the nations are now holding negotiations to seal a bilateral trade agreement that is expected to address a variety of issues, including tariff and market access.