India, US Expand Strategic Cooperation: Modi-Vance Meeting Covers Energy, Defence, Global Issues-OxBig News Network

Modi-Vance Meet: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Vice President of the United States of America, JD Vance today, accompanied by the Second Lady Usha Vance, their children, and senior members of the US Administration, where the two sides discussed bilateral ties. According to officials, PM Modi and US Vice President Vance welcomed progress in the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, while exchanging views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest.

In their talks, the two leaders noted continued efforts towards enhancing cooperation in energy, defence, and strategic technologies. “Prime Minister and Vice President Vance reviewed and positively assessed the progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation. They welcomed the significant progress in the negotiations for a mutually beneficial India-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement focused on the welfare of the people of the two countries. Likewise, they noted continued efforts towards enhancing cooperation in energy, defence, strategic technologies and other areas,” said the PMO in a statement.

The PMO also added that Prime Minister Modi fondly recalled his visit to Washington D.C. in January and his fruitful discussions with President Trump, which laid down the roadmap for close cooperation between India and the U.S., leveraging the strengths of Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Viksit Bharat 2047.

“Prime Minister extended his best wishes to the Vice President, Second Lady and their children for a pleasant and productive stay in India. Prime Minister conveyed his warm greetings to President Trump and said that he looked forward to his visit to India later this year,” said the statement.

The prime minister is hosting a dinner for Vance, his Indian-origin wife Usha Chilukuri and the delegation of senior US government officials accompanying the vice president. Vance and his family landed in Delhi this morning on a four-day India visit after their trip to Italy over the weekend. He is the first US vice president to visit India in 12 years after Joe Biden visited New Delhi in 2013. Vance and his family will also be visiting Jaipur and Agra.

The US was the largest trading partner of India with overall bilateral trade in goods and services amounting to USD 190 billion for the calendar year 2023. In the financial year 2023-24, the US was the third largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India with inflows of USD 4.99 billion.