US Vice President Vance, Second Lady to visit Delhi, Jaipur and Agra during India visit

Washington, April 16 (IANS) US Vice-President J.D. Vance and his Indian-descent wife Usha Vance will be visiting Delhi, Agra and Jaipur during their upcoming visit to India, the White House announced Wednesday.

The Vice President is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi when in Delhi, next week.

This is Vance's first visit to India and the first by an American Vice-President in 13 years. The last was Joe Biden, who travelled to India in 2013 as Vice-President to President Barack Obama.

India is second on the Vances' two-nation tour, from Friday until April 24. Italy will be their first stop.

"In India, the Vice President will visit New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra," Vance's office said in a statement. "The Vice President will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Vice President and Second Family will also participate in engagements at cultural sites," it added.

There was no mention of Mike Waltz, the National Security Advisor, in the White House statement and it was not immediately clear if and when he is scheduled to travel to India. His visit, when it happens, will be the third by a senior member of the Trump administration to India, following Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, and Vice-President Vance.

The Vice-President first met PM Modi in Paris on the sidelines of the AI summit in February. The Second Lady and the second couple's two sons also met the Prime Minister. The Wednesday announcement did not mention if the Vances will be accompanied by their children on this visit.

Vance has emerged as an important member of the Trump cabinet, and an outspoken advocate of President Donald Trump's agenda. The President often calls him for remarks during publicly-aired meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries. His most significant Oval Office intervention so far came in the meeting with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

Usha Vance's parents came to the US from Andhra Pradesh and she was born in San Diego. Her birth name is Usha Bala Chilukuri.

Vance's predecessor in the White House, Vice-President Kamala Harris, never visited India during her tenure although she is also of Indian-descent like Usha Vance — her mother's family was based in Tamil Nadu. Mike Pence, who was Vice-President in President Trump's first term also could not make it although he had expressed a desire to undertake a tour of India.

--IANS

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