There's a vitality to India, a sense of infinite possibility: Vance
US Vice President JD Vance today lavished praised on India’s resilience, lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and narrated how his seven-year old son, Ewan, asked ‘if he could stay in India’.
Vance, who is on a four-day — April 21-24 — visit to India, is accompanied by his wife Usha and their three children.
Vance, who is on his first visit to India – where his wife’s parents were born – said in many countries I feel there's a flatness, a sameness, a desire to just be like everyone else in the world, but it's different in India.
“There's a vitality to India, a sense of infinite possibility, there's a pride in being Indian, a feeling of excitement about the days that lie ahead. Now it's a striking contrast with too many in the West, where some in our leadership class seemed stricken by self-doubt and even fear of the future,” Vance added.
“I am amazed by the ancient beauty of the architecture of India, by the richness of India's history and traditions, but also by India's laser-like focus on the future,” Vance went on.
Vance had a long list of praises for Modi. The western world criticised Prime Minister Modi’s government, arguably the most popular in the democratic world. “I told Prime Minister Modi last night, he's got approval ratings that would make me jealous,” Vance said.
He narrated how at the dinner at Modi’s residence yesterday the food was ‘so good’. “The Prime Minister was so kind to our children that Ewan came up to me afterwards and said, ‘dad, you know, I think maybe I could live in India’.”
I think he's a special person, said Vance while recollecting how he had met Prime Minister Modi at the AI Action Summit in France in February and they had a lot of important discussions on AI and other policies to prepare.
Modi, Vance recollected, managed to figure out that Vivek, the second son of the US Vice President, was actually turning 5 years old on the trip. “Modi took the time to stop by where I was staying, wished our son a happy birthday and even brought a gift. Usha and I were both genuinely touched by his graciousness.”
Vance said his three kids, Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel have really built a rapport with two world leaders — one is President Donald Trump and the other is Prime Minister Modi.
Vance said Prime Minister Modi thought deeply about India's prosperity and security, not just for the rest of his time in office, but over the next century. Like President Trump, Prime Minister Modi inspires remarkable loyalty because of the strength of his belief in his people and country, the US Vice President said.
He went on to add that Modi is a tough negotiator, he drives a hard bargain. It's one of the reasons why we respect him.
