Washington: The US-India COMPACT, a multifaceted programme for cooperation between the two countries, was the centrepiece of the meeting between External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
“The Secretary affirmed the strength of the US-India relationship, highlighting implementation of the US-India COMPACT, which will enhance our two nations’ collaboration on trade, defence, energy, countering illegal immigration, counternarcotics, and more,” she said.
Jaishankar posted on X that they “discussed our bilateral partnership, including trade, security, critical technologies, connectivity, energy, and mobility” and “shared perspectives on regional and global developments.”
Earlier, they had both participated in the Quad ministerial meeting with Foreign Ministers Penny Wong of Australia and Iwaya Takeshi of Japan.
Jaishankar also met with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and said on X that they discussed “the energy transformation underway in India and opportunities for a deeper India-US energy partnership.”
The US-India COMPACT promotes a US-India Energy Security Partnership, including in oil, gas, and civil nuclear energy.
It supports increasing the production of hydrocarbons to lower energy prices.
Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with Wong and Iwaya.
The US-India COMPACT, which stands for Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology, was launched in February when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited US President Donald Trump in Washington.
The White House said the compact’s goals “are to drive transformative change across key pillars of cooperation and commit to a results-driven agenda with initial outcomes this year to demonstrate the level of trust for a mutually beneficial partnership.”
Under the compact, a new ten-year Framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership in the 21st Century is planned.
On the trade front, its goal is “Mission 500,” a plan to increase bilateral trade $500 billion by 2030.
It also includes collaboration in space and artificial intelligence.
(IANS)
