NEW DELHI

US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday sought a “win-win” partnership with India in the areas including defense, energy and artificial intelligence (AI), as a trade deal is being negotiated under the threat of increased tariffs.

Addressing an event in the city of Jaipur, which was streamed online, Vance said that he and US President Donald Trump were looking “forward to stronger ties” with New Delhi and that Americans “want further access to the Indian market.”

“We believe that American energy can help realize India's nuclear power production goals, and this is very important, as well as its AI ambitions, because as the United States knows well, and I know that India knows well, there is no AI future without energy security and energy dominance," he said.

According to the Financial Times, the Trump administration intends to press India to give online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart full access to its $125 billion e-commerce market.

Vance arrived in India on Monday for a four-day trip to the country with his family, which also includes a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra. He met Modi in the capital New Delhi. Among other issues, the two discussed ongoing negotiations on a trade deal.

The “growing relations” led the US to designate “India a major defense partner, the first of that class,” Vance said, adding: “India has much more to gain from its continued defense partnership with the United States.”

He added that Indians “will thrive from greater commerce in the United States.”

“This is very much a win-win partnership. It certainly will be far into the future,” said Vance, whose wife Usha Vance is an Indian-American.

He said technological collaboration between the two countries is going to "extend well beyond defense and energy."

Referring to criticism meted out at Trump over his tariffs on US trade partners, Vance defended the president's trade policy, saying Washington wants "fair and balanced" global trade.

Trump has imposed wide-ranging tariffs on almost all nations, including India, which faces 27% levies. The US president, however, has given a 90-day reprieve to all, except China, to reach trade deals with the US. A 10% baseline tariff remains in place on all countries for now.