US Vice President Biden to visit Gandhi Smriti during India visit

Washington  :  US Vice President Joe Biden, making his first trip to India to deepen ties with a key strategic partner, will visit Gandhi Smriti in New Delhi Monday to pay homage to the father of the nation.

Biden, who will be accompanied by his spouse Jill Biden on the four-day visit, will be hosted for an official dinner July 23 by his Indian counterpart Hamid Ansari.

Besides talks with key officials, Biden will also call on President Pranab Mukherjee, and meet Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and possibly Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

While the vice president will have various engagements in New Delhi, Jill Biden, who is an accomplished educator, will make a quick trip to Agra for a health and nutrition event and to see the Taj Mahal.

The Bidens will be in Mumbai July 24 where they will have separate events at the Mumbai Stock Exchange, IIT, and Anjuman Islam school among other places, before leaving the next day for Singapore on the second leg of his Asia Pacific tour.