NEW DELHI: US Vice President JD Vance will embark on a four-day visit to India on Monday as the two countries seek to unlock economic opportunities and negotiate a bilateral trade deal.
Vance will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for talks on the economy, trade and geopolitical ties. Vance’s visit is seen as an important diplomatic mission by President Donald Trump’s administration, and it coincides with a rapidly intensifying trade war between Washington and Beijing, which is New Delhi’s main rival in the region.
A trade deal between India and the US could significantly enhance economic ties between the two countries and potentially strengthen diplomatic ties.
The US is also India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade valued at $190 billion until recently.
India’s foreign ministry has said the visit will “provide an opportunity for both sides to review the progress in bilateral relations” and two leaders will “exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest.”
Here’s what to know more about Vance’s visit:
Bilateral trade agreement
Vance’s arrival in India comes weeks after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was in India for a geopolitical conference and two months after Modi met Trump in Washington.
Modi was among the first leaders to visit the US and hold talks with Trump after he returned to the White House. During his visit, Modi hailed a “mega partnership” with the US and kickstarted a negotiation process to minimize the possible fallout of Trump’s tariffs after it had already cut tariffs on a range of US goods.
Regardless, Trump targeted India with a 26 percent levy as part of his now-paused tariff program, which has provided temporary relief for Indian exporters.
During his visit, Modi sought to soften impending trade barriers by saying he was open to reducing more tariffs on US goods, repatriating undocumented Indian nationals and buying military gear. The two countries also agreed to start talks toward clinching the bilateral trade agreement.
Modi on Friday said he spoke with Elon Musk and said he and the SpaceX CEO “discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation,” saying “India remains committed to advancing our partnerships with the US in these domains.”
India’s deep ties to US business
India is a close partner of the US for bilateral trade, foreign direct investments, defense cooperation, and an important strategic ally in combating the rising influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region.
It is also part of the Quad, which is made up of the United States plus India, Japan and Australia and seen as a counter-balance to China’s expansion in the region.
Leading UScompanies such as Apple Inc. and Google have expanded operations in India in recent years. Last month, Musk’s Starlink entered into agreements with two of India’s top telecom operators to provide satellite-based Internet services.
To further boost trade ties, the US and India have set an ambitious target of more than doubling their bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 under the expected trade deal agreement.
The negotiations are especially urgent for New Delhi as it could be hit hard by Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, particularly in sectors of agriculture, processed food, auto components, high-end machinery, medical equipment and jewelry. This poses a significant challenge for Modi government as it hopes to spruce up the country’s economy and generate jobs with an export-led recovery.
Modi and Trump already share rapport
Modi established a good working relationship with Trump during his first term in office. It now appears that the two leaders are likely to further boost cooperation between their countries, particularly in trade as Chinese President Xi Jinping is aiming to position Beijing as a reliable trade partner in the Asia-Pacific region amid rising tensions with Washington.
India has also already taken a number of steps to win over Trump. It will purchase more oil, energy and defense equipment, including the fifth-generation stealth fighter jets, from the US
The U.S, however, wants greater market access for its agricultural and dairy products in India, but New Delhi has been reluctant so far as the farm sector employs bulk of the country’s workforce.
Family trip for Vance
Vance’s visit to India marks his first official trip to the country, which has added significance for the second family. His wife Usha Vance — a practicing Hindu — is the daughter of immigrants from South India.
In his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance described his wife a “supersmart daughter of Indian immigrants” whom he met at Yale Law School. Usha’s parents moved to the US in the late 1970s.
Vance will be accompanied by Usha, their children and other senior members of the US administration, and the couple will visit Indian cities of Jaipur and Agra and participate in engagements at cultural sites, a readout from the White House said.

WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created another Signal messaging chat that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of a March military airstrike against Yemen’s Houthi militants that were sent in another chain with top Trump administration leaders, The New York Times reported.
A person familiar with the contents and those who received the messages, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, confirmed the second chat to The Associated Press.
The second chat on Signal — which is a commercially available app not authorized to be used to communicate sensitive or classified national defense information — included 13 people, the person said. They also confirmed the chat was dubbed “Defense ‘ Team Huddle.”
The New York Times reported that the group included Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, who is a former Fox News producer, and his brother Phil Hegseth, who was hired at the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser. Both have traveled with the defense secretary and attended high-level meetings.
The revelation of the additional chat group brought fresh criticism against Hegseth and President Donald Trump’s wider administration after it has failed to take action so far against the top national security officials who discussed plans for the military strike in Signal.
“The details keep coming out. We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X. “Pete Hegseth must be fired.”
The first chat, set up by national security adviser Mike Waltz, included a number of Cabinet members and came to light because Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was added to the group.
The contents of that chat, which The Atlantic published, shows that Hegseth listed weapons systems and a timeline for the attack on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen last month.
The White House, the National Security Council and a Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment about the additional chat group.
Hegseth has previously contended that no classified information or war plans were shared in the chat with the journalist.
The Times reported Sunday that the second chat had the same warplane launch times that the first chat included. Multiple former and current officials have said sharing those operational details before a strike would have certainly been classified and their release could have put pilots in danger.
Hegseth’s use of Signal and the sharing of such plans are under investigation by the Defense Department’s acting inspector general. It came at the request of the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee — Republican Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi and ranking Democratic member Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
The new revelations come amid further turmoil at the Pentagon. Four officials in Hegseth’s inner circle departed last week as the Pentagon conducts a widespread investigation for information leaks.
Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff, were escorted out of the Pentagon.
While the three initially had been placed on leave pending the investigation, a joint statement shared by Caldwell on X on Saturday said the three “still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.”
Caldwell was the staff member designated as Hegseth’s point person in the Signal chat with Trump Cabinet members.
Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot also announced he was resigning last week, unrelated to the leaks. The Pentagon said, however, that Ullyot was asked to resign.