US Vice President JD Vance, along with his wife Usha Vance and their three children, visited the Akshardham Temple in Delhi shortly after arriving in the national capital on Monday (Apr 21).

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Akshardham temple spokesperson, Radhika Shukla, said that the US Vice President spent 55 minutes exploring the temple and appreciated the intricate carvings. He then offered prayers for world peace.

"The whole family was here for around 55 minutes. Their experience of one hour inside was unforgettable. After the welcome, they started with the Charanarvind of Lord Swaminarayan. Moving ahead, they visited Bharat Upvan. They liked the garden very much. Going further, they visited Gajendra Peeth. They were very overwhelmed by the carvings. Then they went upstairs and, after having a darshan of the idol of Lord Swaminarayan in the sanctum sanctorum, they prayed for world peace," Shukla said.

Ahead of their visit, the Akshardham Temple spokesperson said, "The Vice President and the Second Lady are coming for the Darshan at Akshardham Temple. She has Indian roots... They are coming here directly from the airport... They will first have the darshan of the replica of Lord Swaminarayan and then they will see the architecture of the temple..."

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Vance, on Monday (Apr 21), arrived in Delhi for his first official visit to India.

Upon his arrival at the Palam airport, he received a ceremonial Guard of Honour.

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The US vice president, along with his children and the Second Lady, was welcomed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Vance's four-day official visit to India

Vance is on a four-day official visit to India, from April 21 to 24, during which he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi today.

The formal meeting between PM Modi and Vance is scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Prime Minister's official residence, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.

The discussions will likely be centred around strengthening economic, trade, and defence cooperation between the two nations.

Following the official meetings, the Vance family will travel to Jaipur on Tuesday (Apr 22) and on Wednesday (Apr 23), he is scheduled to visit Agra.

Vance's visit to India is expected to bolster bilateral ties between the two nations, with discussions covering key issues between India and the US. 

During the weekly media briefing last Thursday (Apr 17), on being asked about the possibility of tariff discussions Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have a comprehensive strategic global partnership; when you have that level of partnership with any country, obviously, you will discuss all relevant issues."

He added, "Of course, our relationship is such that we are doing anything that is part of our human endeavour from part of our bilateral engagement ... so all these bilateral issues will be discussed and we are very positive that the visit will give a further boost to our bilateral ties."

He also highlighted that the discussions between both countries regarding a potential trade agreement. "We are talking to the US side so that a bilateral trade agreement can be done," he said.