Modi, Vance meeting today, focus on defence, nuclear energy, trade and combatting human trafficking

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States Vice President J D Vance will on Monday discuss bilateral cooperation in defence, and nuclear energy, particularly for installing Small Modular Reactors in India, speeding up negotiations for an early-harvest trade deal and a joint crackdown on illegal immigration and human trafficking networks.

The meeting between Modi and Vance is likely to see the two sides making progress on a new 10-year framework agreement for the US-India Major Defence Partnership in the 21st Century. They are also likely to discuss procurements and co-production arrangements for the American ‘Javelin’ Anti-Tank Guided Missiles and ‘Stryker’ Infantry Combat Vehicles in India.

Vance will land in New Delhi at around 10:00 a.m. on Monday. He will be accompanied by his Indian American wife, Usha Vance, and the couple’s three children, Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel, during the visit, in addition to senior officials of the US government. He is going to be the most high-profile visitor from the US to India after Donald Trump returned to the White House as the 47th American president. Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, was the first senior official of the Trump Administration to visit India.

The meeting between Modi and Vance will take place at the prime minister’s official residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi in the evening, according to the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India.

The prime minister will also host a dinner for the second family of the US.

The Vances will visit the Akshardham Temple earlier in the day. They will visit Jaipur and Agra on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning to the US on Thursday.

Modi and Vance will discuss the implementation of the US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement, which was inked in 2008.

The Trump Administration recently granted an authorisation to Holtec International Limited to sell the US company’s flagship small modular reactor, SMR-300, for deployment in India, in collaboration with Larsen & Toubro and Tata Consulting Engineers. The meeting between Modi and Vance may see Washington, D.C., nudging New Delhi to move fast to deliver on its promise to amend the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND Act), 2010, to make it possible for private entities to own nuclear power plants in India and to limit the exposure of the private nuclear reactor suppliers of the US to liability in case of an accident, a source aware of bilateral discussion on the issue told DH.

The two sides may also discuss the possibility of bilateral arrangements to address the concerns of the US-based companies over India’s civil liability law, which remained a hurdle in the implementation of the 2008 agreement, added the source.

Vance is visiting New Delhi even as Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” on imports of the US triggered concerns among the exporters of India. He and Modi are expected to reaffirm the shared commitment of India and the US to a free, open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region – sending out a message to China. Beijing recently reached out to New Delhi, suggesting that China and India should stand together against the “abuse of tariffs” by the US.

Modi and Trump, on February 13, agreed to negotiate a trade agreement. They set the target to conclude negotiations, at least for the first part of the agreement, by fall 2025.

Trump, however, issued his Executive Order on Reciprocal Tariffs on April 2, imposing additional ad-valorem duties ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from all trading partners. The baseline duty of 10% came into effect from April 5, and the remaining country-specific additional ad-valorem duty will be effective from April 9. The executive order imposed an additional duty of 27% on India’s exports to the US.

The US goods imports from India totalled $87.4 billion in 2024, 4.4% or $3.7 billion more than in 2023. India imported goods worth $41.75 billion from the US in 2024. India was the destination of 2.02% of exports in 2024. The US goods trade deficit with India was $45.6 billion in 2024, an increase of $2.3 billion (5.3%) over 2023.

New Delhi purportedly conveyed to Washington, D.C. that it was willing to consider slashing tariffs on 55% of the US exports to India, worth about $23 billion.

Vance and his wife, Usha, whose parents had migrated from India to the US, had earlier called on Modi in Paris on February 12. He was also present when Trump hosted Modi in the White House in Washington, D.C., a day later.

The Trump Administration deported 332 Indian illegal migrants from the US aboard military aircraft on February 5, 15 and 16.

Modi and Trump, on February 13, committed to streamlining avenues for legal mobility of students and professionals, and facilitating short-term tourist and business travel, while also aggressively addressing illegal immigration and human trafficking by taking strong action against “bad actors, criminal facilitators, and illegal immigration networks to promote mutual security for both countries”.

A source in New Delhi told DH that Vance’s visit to India would add momentum to bilateral cooperation in curbing illegal immigration.