India’s anti-terror outreach: Shashi Tharoor speaks on delegation meet with US VP JD Vance; ‘Had a very good conversation,’ he says

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor shared an update on Tuesday about a key diplomatic engagement between an all-party Indian delegation and US vice president JD Vance last week, describing the earlier meeting as “remarkable” and strategically timed amid a series of high-level global interactions.Tharoor, who led the delegation, revealed that the group was allotted 20–25 minutes with VP Vance - a slot given between Vance’s scheduled call with the Chinese President and an upcoming meeting with the German Chancellor.“We were right in between,” Tharoor said. “But we had a very good conversation. We left feeling that we could not have had a better meeting.”The delegation, on a mission to build international consensus around India’s counter-terrorism stance, used the opportunity to convey their concerns and objectives.

“I spoke for the delegation and in turn we got back exactly the kind of feedback we would have wanted. So, I think we left very happy,” Tharoor added.

The Tharoor-led delegation concluded its diplomatic mission late Sunday. On the final day of the tour, the delegation paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Washington. Tharoor later posted on X: “It is striking how many world capitals are adorned with statues or busts of the Mahatma, the 20th century’s greatest apostle of peace, nonviolence, and human freedom.”

The group had arrived in Washington on June 3 after stops in Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil. They met with several key American leaders, including JD Vance, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, senior members of Congress, policy experts, and the Indian-American community.STharoor had described the meeting with Vance as “an excellent meeting” and stated the Vice President was “warm and welcoming and receptive.” He added that Vance “expressed complete understanding, first of all, outrage of what happened in Pahalgam and support and respect for India’s restrained response in Operation Sindoor.”

A US State Department spokesperson said Landau “reaffirmed the United States’ strong support of India in the fight against terrorism and the strategic partnership between the two countries.”The meeting was part of the ongoing diplomatic efforts to strengthen ties between India and the United States, with both sides engaging in open and constructive dialogue. Its main objective was to build consensus on India's counter terrorism stance late Sunday, completing the final leg of a diplomatic mission to build international consensus on India’s counter-terrorism stance following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people.