US Vice President JD Vance arrived in India on Monday for a four-day visit as New Delhi seems to avoid US customs and negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with Washington.
Mr. Vance is accompanied by his wife, Usha Vance, whose parents are from India with their children and officials from the US administration. The couple visits historic places in the cities of Jaipur and Agra, including Taj Mahal.
Mr. Vance will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the first day of his largely personal visit. The two leaders are expected to have discussions about bilateral ties described in February when Mr. Modi met President Donald Trump in Washington.
Mr. Vance landed in New Delhi’s Palam Airport after a visit to Rome, where he held a private meeting with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday.
The United States is India’s largest trading partner, and the two countries are now holding negotiations aimed at sealing a bilateral trade agreement this year.
They have set an ambitious goal of more than doubling their bilateral trade to $ 500 billion. By 2030. If it achieved, the trade agreement could significantly improve the economic ties between the two countries and potentially strengthen diplomatic ties.
Mr. Vances first visit to New Delhi comes in the midst of the background of Mr. Trump’s now-paused customs program against most countries, including India. It also coincides with a rapidly intensified trade war between Washington and Beijing, which is New Delhi’s biggest rival in the region.
Here’s what to know more about Vision’s visit:
Mr. Vancer’s arrival in India comes weeks after the National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard was in India for a geopolitical conference and two months after Mr Modi met Trump in Washington.
Mr. Modi was among the first leaders to visit the United States and held conversations with Trump after returning to the White House. During his visit, Mr Modi started a negotiation process to minimize the possible fall of Mr. Trump’s customs.
Either way, Mr. Trump targeted India with a 26 percent tax as part of his now-breaked customs program that has provided temporary relief to Indian exporters.
During his visit, Mr Modi tried to soften upcoming trading barriers by saying that he was open to reducing more tariffs on US goods, repatriates undocumented Indian citizens and buying military equipment. The two countries also agreed to start conversations to get the bilateral trade agreement.
India’s deep ties to the American business
India is a close partner of the United States for bilateral trade, foreign direct investment, defense cooperation and an important strategic ally in the fight against China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
It is also part of Quad, which consists of the United States Plus India, Japan and Australia and is seen as a counter -balance to China’s expansion in the region.
Leading US companies such as Apple Inc and Google have expanded operations in India in recent years. Last month, Mr Musk’s Starlink Agreements with two of India’s best telecommunications operators entered into to provide satellite-based Internet services.
Modi and Trump already share report
Mr. Modi established a good collaboration with Trump during his first term of office. It now seems that the two leaders are likely to increase cooperation between their countries, especially in trade, as Chinese President Xi Jinping aims to position Beijing as a reliable trading partner in the Asia-Stophav region in the midst of rising tensions with Washington.
India has also already taken a number of steps to win over Mr. Trump. It will buy more oil, energy and defense equipment, including the fifth generation of stealth fighter jets, from the United States.
However, the United States wants greater market access for its agricultural and dairy products in India, but New Delhi has been reluctant, as far as the farm sector employs the majority of the country’s workforce.
Family trip to Vance
Mr. Vision’s visit to India marks his first official trip to the country, which has added meaning to the other family. His wife Usha Vance – a practicing Hindu – is the daughter of immigrants from South India. In his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” Mr Vance described his wife a “super -smart daughter of Indian immigrants” he met at Yale Law School. Usha Vances parents moved to the United States in the late 1970s.