 "US Vice President JD Vance receiving the ceremonial guard of honour upon his arrival in New Delhi, India, on April 21, 2025. (Photo: PTI)")
US Vice President JD Vance has arrived in India on his first official visit.
Upon his arrival in Delhi around 9:30 am, Vance received a ceremonial guard of honour.
Vance is the highest-ranking US official to visit in President Donald Trump’s second term. Last month, intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard visited India.
India and the United States are currently engaged in talks to reach a bilateral trade agreement. Vance’s meetings in India, including with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be focussed on discussions around the trade deal. The delegation-level talks are also expected to include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and Indian US envoy Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
Vance will be in India for four days and will visit Jaipur in Rajasthan and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.
The ongoing India-US trade talks have been prompted by Trump’s tariff policy. At 26 per cent, he has slapped some of the highest ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on India. Shortly after those tariffs came into effect earlier this month, he paused them for 90 days in what appears to be an attempt to give nations time to reach deals with the United States.