US Vice President J.D. Vance and his Indian-origin wife Usha Vance will visit Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur during their upcoming trip to India, the White House announced on Wednesday.
The Vice President is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi next week.
This will be Vance’s first visit to India and the first by an American Vice President in 13 years. The last Vice Presidential visit to India was by Joe Biden in 2013, during his tenure under President Barack Obama.
India is the second stop in the Vances’ two-nation tour, which begins Friday and continues through April 24. Their first destination will be Italy.
“In India, the Vice President will visit New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra,” Vance’s office said in a statement. “The Vice President will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Vice President and the Second Family will also participate in engagements at cultural sites,” it added.
The statement made no mention of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and it is not immediately clear if or when he will travel to India. If confirmed, his visit would mark the third by a senior Trump administration official to India, following trips by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President Vance.
Vance first met Prime Minister Modi in Paris earlier this year on the sidelines of the AI Summit in February. The Second Lady and the couple’s two sons also met the Prime Minister at the time. However, Wednesday’s announcement did not clarify whether their children will accompany them on this visit.
Vice President Vance has emerged as a key member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet and is a vocal supporter of the President’s agenda. Trump often calls on Vance to speak during publicly aired meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries. One of Vance’s most prominent appearances was during a meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Usha Vance, née Usha Bala Chilukuri, was born in San Diego to parents who immigrated to the US from Andhra Pradesh.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Vance’s immediate predecessor, never visited India during her term, despite her Indian heritage — her mother’s family hails from Tamil Nadu. Similarly, Mike Pence, Vice President during Trump’s first term, had also expressed interest in visiting India but was unable to do so.
-IANS