New Delhi: US Vice President J.D. Vance will begin an official visit to India from Monday (April 21), during which he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and making sight-seeing trips with his family.

Vance, who the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said will travel to India with his Indian-origin wife Usha Vance and their children, will also visit Jaipur and Agra before leaving for the US on April 24.

According to the MEA, Vance will meet Modi on Monday itself.

His visit will allow both sides to review the “progress in bilateral relations” as well as the “implementation of the outcomes” of the joint statement, it added. One aspect of the joint statement was the announcement of negotiations for a bilateral trade deal, the first phase of which officials either side planned to conclude by autumn this year.

One month later US President Donald Trump announced a ‘reciprocal’ tariff of 27% against India as part of a broader campaign against around 90 countries and then within hours of its implementation on April 9 declared a 90-day pause for nations excluding China.

Since then there have been reports citing unnamed officials in New Delhi – which will look to an agreement to stave off the steep tariffs held at bay for the time being – that a deal of some sort could be struck in the coming three months.

During Vance’s visit both sides will also “exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest”, said the MEA, which did not explicitly mention either the trade deal or the tariffs.

The White House’s press release only said that Vance would discuss “shared economic and geopolitical priorities” with Modi and with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose country the vice president will visit starting Friday.

Vance will be in Rome at the same time that US officials led by the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will hold negotiations with their Iranian counterparts over Tehran’s use of nuclear energy, but he will not participate in the talks, CBS News reported.

Monday’s visit to India will be Vance’s first, the MEA said.

He will be the second Trump cabinet official to visit India after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

US national security adviser Michael Waltz was scheduled to visit India this month but as The Wire has reported his trip was cancelled.

Waltz was scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and launch the new avatar of the dialogue on critical technology, TRUST, which was named iCET under the Joe Biden administration. He was also expected to participate in the India-US Forum organised by Ananta Centre.