US Vice President JD Vance arrived in the Indian capital, Delhi, where he should talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the backdrop of global trade tensions caused by Washington's tariff policies.
The conversations are likely to focus on the rapid tracking of a multi -anticipated bilateral trade deal between the two countries.
Vance is also expected to go on a tour of Agra and Jaipur's landmarks with his family.
His visit is coming as countries around the world are in a hurry to negotiate trade deals before the 90-day pause of US President Donald Trump for reciprocal tariffs ends on July 9.
“The two countries will also exchange views on the regional and global development of mutual interest,” the India Foreign Ministry said before Vance's visit.
The Vice President is accompanied by his children and his wife, Usha Vance, whose parents migrated to the United States from the southern state Andhra Pradesh.
After arriving in Delhi on Monday morning, Vance visited the Aksharham Temple Complex in the city.
He must meet with the Indian prime minister for official talks later during the day and Modi will host Vance for dinner in the evening.
The visit comes against the escalation of trade tensions between Washington and several countries after Trump has announced steep reciprocal tariffs for them.
Trump, who has repeatedly called Delhi Tariff violence, has announced a 27% tariff for India before making it temporarily on April 9th.
India has already reduced the tariffs for some goods in the United States, with additional cuts is expected, as the trade balance is still strongly arranged in favor of Delhi, which is enjoying a $ 45 billion trade surplus.
India's average tariffs of about 12% are also significantly higher than 2% of the United States.
Until recently, the US was the largest trading partner in India, with bilateral trade reaching $ 190 billion ($ 144 billion).
Prime Minister Modi was among the first leaders to meet Trump after taking office. Modi welcomed Mega Partnership with the United States after meeting the president.
Trump and Modi have set an ambitious goal of more than dual bilateral trade up to $ 500 billion, as the two leaders have announced a deal to India to bring more than America, including oil and gas.
Weeks later, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabard visited India, followed by a US delegation, led by South and Central Asia Sales Representative Brendan Lynch.
The Vance Indian tour is also considered significant, as Trump is likely to visit the country later this year for the Quad summit, which will also host Australia and Japan leaders.
Speaking of Vance's commitments in India, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaicaval said Delhi was “very positive that the visit would give an additional impetus to our bilateral ties.”
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