Vance’s India visit to be first by a US vice president in 12 years
US Vice President J.D. Vance and his Indian-descent wife Usha Vance will visit India later this month, according to a US news report. This will make him the first American vice president to visit India in over 12 years.
Vance will be the second member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit New Delhi this month, following Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.
According to US media reports, Vice President Vance will be accompanied by Second Lady Usha Vance, whose parents immigrated to the US from India. Usha was born and raised in the US and met Vance at Yale, where they were both studying law.
India will be Vice President Vance’s second foreign trip after his visit to France and Germany, where he addressed the Munich Security Conference.
The last visit by a US vice president to India was in 2013, when then Vice President Joe Biden visited New Delhi. Mike Pence, who served during Trump’s first term, had expressed interest in visiting India but never did. Kamala Harris, the Indian-descent vice president under President Joe Biden, also never visited India or publicly expressed a desire to do so.
Vance’s visit is significant as he has emerged as a key communicator of President Trump’s agenda and an outspoken advocate for the administration’s policies. He recently made headlines for his sharp exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, highlighting Trump’s position on the issue.
Vance also stirred controversy at the Munich Security Conference by accusing European governments, including close allies like the UK and Germany, of stifling free speech.
Details of Vance’s engagements in India have not yet been disclosed.
Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard’s visit includes an address at the Raisina Dialogue, an annual meeting of global security and foreign policy leaders and experts.
