US Vice President JD Vance, Wife Usha To Visit India, Italy From April 18 To 24

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Vice President JD Vance and his family are scheduled to visit Italy and India from April 18 to 24, according to a recent statement. The US Vice President will discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities with PM Modi.

In India, JD Vance will visit Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. The official statement said the JD Vance will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Vance's are expected to bring their three young children - Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel - with them on the trip.

The Vances are also expected to take part in cultural activities.

JD Vance's visit to India and Italy is taking place against the backdrop of Trump's policy on tariffs that triggered massive trade disruptions and fears of a global economic recession.

JD Vance and his family will meet Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Rome. The US Vice President will also meet with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to participate in ceremonies ahead of Easter Sunday, the official statement read.

Vance, who converted to Catholicism six years ago, is the second Catholic to be elected Vice President, CBS reported. Former President Joe Biden was the first, and Biden was the second Catholic to be elected president after John F. Kennedy.

In Italy, US V-P JD Vance is not expected to participate in talks with Iranian negotiators over Tehran's nuclear program, which will also be taking place in Rome on Saturday, according to a Vance spokesperson.

Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's special envoy to the Middle East, will continue to lead those negotiations with the Iranian government.

Before JD Vance, the last US Vice President to visit India was Kamala Harris, who made an official visit in August 2021.

India and the United States have signed the terms of reference for the first phase of a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), aiming to finalise the deal by fall 2025, likely between September and October.

Both countries are working towards expanding bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, building on a current trade volume of around $191 billion.

The US is currently India's top export destination, with exports reaching $86.51 billion in FY25, and India is keen to reduce tariffs on US imports worth $23 billion in the initial phase of the deal.

JD Vance's International Trips

Vance visited Paris and Munich, Germany, in February to speak at several conferences where he criticized European allies for censorship on free speech and burden sharing for defense spending.

Vance visited Greenland in March with his wife and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz amid the fallout from the Signal group chat controversy, when Waltz mistakenly added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat that included Vance and featured discussions of military action against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

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