US vice-president JD Vance will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a four-day visit to India next week while their two countries are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement.
The two leaders should meet on April 21, the first day of Vance’s trip, for discussions on economic, commercial and geopolitical ties.
“The visit will offer both parties the opportunity to examine the progress of bilateral relations,” the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Vance’s first visit to India since its entry into office when countries are working to conclude a trade agreement in the fall.
The vice-president will be accompanied by his children and his wife USHA Vance whose parents have emigrated to the United States of the state of southern India in Andhra Pradesh.
The visit comes in the context of the intensification of the trade war between the United States and China, President Donald Trump placing prices up to 145% on Chinese products, samples from certain goods perhaps reaching 245%. China retaliated with 125% tariffs on American products.
India was also one of the countries facing 27% of American prices on April 2, before the announcement of a 90 -day break.
Since then, Delhi and Washington have worked at the end of commercial negotiations.
India has already reduced prices on a range of goods and would consider more varied cuts to ward off Trump’s threats.
Until recently, the United States was the largest trading partner in India, bilateral trade reaching $ 190 billion (144 billion pounds Sterling).
Prime Minister Modi visited the United States in February shortly after the inauguration of Trump and the two leaders met for talks.
During his visit, Modi praised a “mega partnership” with the United States, while the two leaders announced an agreement for India to import more America, including oil and gas.
Trump and Modi set an ambitious target to more than double bilateral trade at $ 500 billion.
Vance’s visit comes for weeks after the director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was in India for a geopolitical conference.
India and the United States occupy an important position in the Quad-an alliance with four nations of India, Australia, the United States and Japan-considered as a counter-balance of China’s expansion in Indo-Pacific.
The visit comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping wraps a visit to the Nations of Southeast Asia, aimed at positioning China as a stable and reliable trading partner in the middle of the growing tensions with Washington.
India is one of the two countries on the Vance route. Before his arrival in Delhi, he will visit Italy from April 18. He must meet the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Under the administration of President Trump, Vance took the lead in international diplomatic commitments.
Trump has not yet undertaken a foreign visit since his return to functions in January.
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