United States Vice President JD Vance commenced his four-day official visit to India on April 21, 2025, accompanied by his wife Usha Vance and their three children. This marks his first visit to India as Vice President, and Usha Vance’s first visit to her ancestral homeland in her official capacity.

The visit underscores the growing strategic partnership between India and the United States, with a particular focus on advancing economic, technological, and defence cooperation.

On the first day of his visit, Vice President Vance met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the PM’s official residence in New Delhi. Vance described the meeting as an “honour,” praising Modi as a “great leader” and expressing gratitude for the Prime Minister’s warm hospitality towards his family. Social media posts and official statements highlighted the cordial atmosphere, with Vance noting Modi was “incredibly kind” to his family.

The meeting included a personal touch, as PM Modi interacted warmly with Vance’s children, giving them peacock feathers and patiently answering their questions during a tour of the residence’s gardens.

The leaders reaffirmed the strength of the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, emphasising their commitment to mutually beneficial cooperation across sectors such as trade, technology, defence, energy, and people-to-people exchanges.

A significant outcome of the meeting was the joint launch of the India-U.S. COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) initiative, designed to deepen collaboration based on mutual trust and shared interests.

Both sides welcomed the “significant progress” in negotiations for a U.S.-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), formally announcing the finalisation of the Terms of Reference for the talks. The BTA is expected to foster job creation and economic growth in both countries, aiming for enhanced bilateral trade and supply-chain integration. The agreement is guided by the visions of ‘Amrit Kaal for India’ and the ‘Golden Age for America,’ with an ambitious target of reaching $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

Vance’s visit also included cultural diplomacy, with planned trips to Jaipur and Agra, reflecting the importance of people-to-people ties and the personal dimension of the U.S.-India relationship. The visit comes shortly after a successful meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi in Washington, reinforcing the momentum in bilateral ties and the shared ambition to make the India-U.S. partnership a defining relationship of the 21st century.

Security was heightened in Delhi for the high-level visit, and the itinerary included engagements with senior Indian officials, as well as cultural and public diplomacy events. The visit is widely seen as an opportunity to review progress in bilateral relations, advance trade negotiations, and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual concern.

ANI