Vance in India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 21 met with the Vice President of the United States of America, JD Vance. The US vice president was accompanied by the Second Lady Usha Vance, their children, and senior members of the US administration.Prime Minister fondly recalled his visit to Washington DC in February and his fruitful discussions with President Trump, which laid down the roadmap for close cooperation between India and the US, leveraging the strengths of Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Viksit Bharat 2047, according to a government statement.Prime Minister and Vice President Vance reviewed and positively assessed the progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation, the statement said“They welcomed the significant progress in the negotiations for a mutually beneficial India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement focused on the welfare of the people of the two countries. Likewise, they noted continued efforts towards enhancing cooperation in energy, defence, strategic technologies and other areas,” it said.The meeting comes at a time when the two nations are negotiating on finalising of India-US bilateral trade deal amid President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, currently paused till July. A team from India may visit Washington DC later this month to discuss the trade deal with US officials.Vance, his family and team, landed in New Delhi on Monday morning for a four-day visit to India.The two leaders, also exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest, and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward, the government statement said.Vance’s visit to India also comes amid recent deportations of illegal Indian immigrants in shackles and revocation of student visas.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra were also part of the Indian team led by Modi at the meeting held at the PM’s official residence, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.Prime Minister extended his best wishes to the Vice President, Second Lady and their children for a pleasant and productive stay in India, the statement said.“Prime Minister conveyed his warm greetings to President Trump and said that he looked forward to his visit to India later this year,” it read.They welcomed the significant progress in the negotiations for a mutually beneficial India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement focused on the welfare of the people of the two countries.PM Modi hosted Vance’s family and the accompanying US officials for dinner after the formal meeting.Later in the night, Vance will travel to Jaipur for his engagements on April 22. They are scheduled to visit Agra on April 23. Vance’s visit to India will conclude on Thursday, April 24, with his departure from the country at 6.40 a.m.
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