US vice-president Vance, wife Usha to visit India next week, to meet PM Modi

US vice-president J.D. Vance and his wife Usha, the country's first Indian-American second lady, are set to visit India early next week, with Vance expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The US vice-president will travel to Italy this week and then to India, a spokesperson for Vance told CBS News.

The Vances are expected to bring their three young children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel — to India and the family is expected to travel to Jaipur and Agra apart from visiting New Delhi.

The US vice-president is travelling to India against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's policy on tariffs which has triggered massive trade disruptions and fears of a global economic recession.

Days after his reciprocal tariff system kicked in this month, Trump announced a 90-day pause on it on all countries, except China, as countries around the world wilted under the impact of the seismic action.

US national security adviser Michael Waltz had also planned to visit India early next week, but the trip has been postponed, people familiar with the matter said.

Vance's visit is likely to be more of a private trip, though it will have official components, the people cited above said.

It is learnt that the US vice-president will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21 April, covering various aspects of India-US ties including the issue of tariffs and the ongoing negotiations between the two sides for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

CBS News said Vance is undertaking a seven-day visit to Italy and India that will begin Thursday. It said Vance will travel to Rome to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni before meeting with the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin to participate in ceremonies ahead of Easter Sunday.

The spokesperson said the US second family will also travel to Jaipur and Agra, where they are expected to participate in cultural events.

The visit by Vance follows weeks after US director of national intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard travelled to India. The DNI held separate meetings with Prime Minister Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval.

The US president's tariff tussle has stoked fears of a global trade war. Following talks between Modi and Trump in Washington DC in February, the two sides announced that they would negotiate the first tranche of the BTA by autumn of 2025.