New Delhi: US Vice President JD Vance and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz are expected to arrive in New Delhi on April 21, in a significant diplomatic engagement that underscores Washington’s strategic focus on its partnership with India amid mounting global unease over President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policy.
Top sources were quoted by news agency PTI on Friday that the two US leaders will be undertaking separate visits, with differing objectives. While Vance’s trip is expected to have a largely private character—accompanied by Second Lady Usha Vance and their children—it will include key official components. Waltz’s visit, by contrast, will be entirely business-focused.
The visits are timed ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled two-day trip to Saudi Arabia starting April 22. Both Vance and Waltz are expected to meet Modi during their stay in the capital. Waltz is also slated to hold wide-ranging discussions with NSA Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Indo-Pacific security, critical and emerging technologies, and economic cooperation.
Waltz, a vocal advocate of strong U.S.-India ties, will visit India from April 21 to 23, sources said. He is expected to formally launch the India-US TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology) initiative—a new platform for high-technology cooperation that replaces the iCET (Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology) established during the Biden administration.
The TRUST initiative was jointly announced last month following talks between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi in Washington. It aims to deepen collaboration in areas such as semiconductors, critical minerals, export controls, telecommunications, and defense-space technology.
Vance, whose visit is expected to be longer, is planning stops in Shimla, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Delhi, alongside his family. The trip reflects both personal and official undertones as Washington seeks to emphasize enduring people-to-people and diplomatic ties.
The back-to-back visits come on the heels of U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s recent trip to India, during which she met with Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Jaishankar, and Doval.
The diplomatic flurry follows global fallout over Trump’s controversial tariff regime. On Wednesday, the president announced a temporary 90-day suspension of tariffs on all countries except China, seeking to ease international market jitters that have fueled recession fears.
India and the U.S. have sought to steady their trade ties despite growing friction. In February, Modi and Trump agreed to begin negotiations on the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement (BTA), with an aim to conclude talks by fall 2025.
As Washington and New Delhi navigate this turbulent global economic landscape, the visits of Vance and Waltz signal a recalibration of U.S. foreign policy priorities and a reaffirmation of India’s role as a key strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific.
