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New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) India and the US on Monday welcomed the "significant progress" in the negotiations for a mutually beneficial bilateral trade pact as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President JD Vance held wide-ranging talks to enhance cooperation in areas of defence, energy and technologies.
Modi hosted Vance, Indian-origin US Second Lady Usha Chilukuri and their three children Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel over dinner at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence after the official talks.
PM Modi conveyed to Vance his warm greetings for President Donald Trump and said that he looked forward to his visit to India later this year.
The prime minister and the vice president also exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and called for "dialogue and diplomacy" as the way forward.
Vance and his family arrived in Delhi this morning on a four-day visit that came weeks after President Trump imposed and then paused a sweeping tariff regime against around 60 countries including India.
New Delhi and Washington are now holding negotiations to seal a bilateral trade agreement as agreed during Modi's talks with Trump in Washington DC in February. The trade pact is expected to address a variety of issues including tariff and market access.
Prime Minister Modi and Vice President Vance "reviewed and positively assessed" the progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation, an Indian readout said.
"They welcomed the significant progress in the negotiations for a mutually beneficial India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) focused on the welfare of the people of the two countries," it said.
"Likewise, they noted continued efforts towards enhancing cooperation in energy, defence, strategic technologies and other areas," it said.
It is for the first time that the two sides publicly announced that there has been "significant progress" in the negotiations for the BTA first tranche of which is likely to be finalised by this fall.
A delegation of Indian negotiators are set to travel to the US on Wednesday to hold talks with American officials on the BTA.
"The prime minister fondly recalled his visit to Washington DC in February and his fruitful discussions with President Trump, which laid down the roadmap for close cooperation between India and the US, leveraging the strengths of Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Viksit Bharat 2047," the Indian readout said.
It said Modi and Vance also "exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest, and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward".
"The prime minister conveyed his warm greetings to President Trump and said that he looked forward to his visit to India later this year," the readout said.
Trump is expected to visit India later this year to attend the annual summit of the Quad grouping.
"The prime minister extended his best wishes to the Vice President, Second Lady and their children for a pleasant and productive stay in India," the readout added.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval and Principal Secretary (II) to PM Shaktikanta Das were part of the Indian delegation at the talks.
The focus of the talks was learnt to be early finalisation of the bilateral trade pact as well as ways to boost overall trajectory of ties including in areas of defence and energy.
The US Vice President and his family landed in Delhi after their trip to Italy over the weekend.
Vance is the first US vice president to visit India in 12 years after Joe Biden visited New Delhi in 2013.
On April 22, the Vances will visit a number of historical sites in Jaipur including the Amer Fort, also known as Amber Fort. The fort is a UNESCO world heritage site.
In the afternoon, the US Vice President is scheduled to address a gathering at the Rajasthan International Center in Jaipur.
Vance is expected to delved into broader aspects of India-US relations under the Donald Trump administration during his speech that is expected to be attended by diplomats, foreign policy experts, Indian government officials and academia.
The US Vice President and his family will travel to Agra on the morning of April 23, people familiar with the matter said.
In Agra, they will visit Taj Mahal and Shilpgram which is an open air emporium showcasing various Indian artefacts, they said.
After concluding their visit to Agra, the Vances will return to Jaipur on the second half of April 23.
The Vances will depart for the US from Jaipur on April 24, according to the people cited above. PTI MPB KVK KVK
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