 "US intel chief Tulsi Gabbard to visit India as part of Indo-Pacific tour")
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is set to visit India as part of a multi-nation tour of the Indo-Pacific.
Gabbard announced her travel plans in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday (March 11), stating that she would visit Japan, Thailand, and India, with a brief stop in France before returning to Washington, DC.
She spoke of the importance of “building strong relationships, understanding, and open lines of communication” to advance President Trump’s goals of peace, freedom, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.
Her first stop during the tour is Honolulu, Hawaii, where Gabbard is meeting with US intelligence community partners, leaders at US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), and American troops engaged in training exercises.
Gabbard, a former congresswoman and an Army veteran, has long-standing ties to the Indo-Pacific, having spent part of her childhood in the region.
Why this visit matters
Gabbard’s visit to India comes at a time of deepening defence and intelligence collaboration between Washington and New Delhi. Further details on her engagements in India have not yet been disclosed.
Notably, this is set to be the first visit by a top White House official to India under Trump 2.0 administration.
Her visit to India follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in February. During his visit, PM Modi met with Tulsi Gabbard and called her a “strong votary” of the India-US friendship.
That Gabbard is of Indian origin is a common misunderstanding, given her name and religion of choice– Hinduism. However, the US DNI was born American Samoa, a territory of the US, and was raised in Hawaii and the Philippines.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHer mother Carol Porter Gabbard was raised in a multicultural household and became interested in Hinduism. Tulsi is also known to follow Hinduism because of this influence.
With inputs from ANI
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