US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard is set to visit India next week to attend a security conclave that is being held on the margins of the Raisina Dialogue. “I am #WheelsUp on a multi-nation trip to the Indo-Pacific, a region I know very well having grown up as a child of the Pacific. I’ll be going to Japan, Thailand, and India, with a brief stop in France enroute back to DC,” Gabbard said in a post on X.
Gabbard is taking the “multi-nation” trip with the aim of opening communication to the Indo-Pacific and to build a string relationship. In her social media post, she said that the objective is to achieve President Trump‘s vision of “peace, freedom and prosperity.”
This will be Gabbard’s first visit to India since becoming the eighth Senate-confirmed and first female combat veteran DNI in the second Trump administration. She had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February when he visited Washington DC for a meeting with Trump at the White House. Gabbard was the first US official to meet Modi at Blair House on February 12, shortly after he arrived in the US capital.
JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance to visit India: Report
A report by Politico said that US Vice President JD Vance and his wife, and Second Lady Usha Vance are also set to visit India later this month. The report quoted some sources confirming the same.
While JD Vance has visited India before, this will be Usha Vance‘s first trip to her ancestral country as Second Lady. Their upcoming trip to India is anticipated to occur simultaneously as Trump’s tariff threat looms.
Donald Trump recently said that India had agreed to slash their tariffs. However, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified on Tuesday that it has not yet agreed to reduce import duties on US products.
India’s Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told a Parliamentary panel on Monday that talks are still ongoing, and no agreement on trade tariffs has been reached between India and the US.
Barthwal said India supports free trade and wants to make trade easier, which would help increase trade between the two countries. He also mentioned that a tariff war doesn’t help anyone, including the US, and could lead to a recession.
The Politico report further suggested that India might sign a beneficial agreement that is mutual.
Will Trump visit India?
US President Donald Trump may visit India later this year for a meeting with the leaders of the Quad — a group made up of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House last month. He was the fourth foreign leader to meet Donald Trump since he became president on January 20.
During his US trip, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mentioned that while President Trump often talks about ‘Make America Great Again’, India is focused on building a “Developed India” or Viksit Bharat, which can be seen as the Indian equivalent of MAGA as MIGA (Make India Great Again). He added that together, India and the USA have a strong partnership aimed at prosperity.