New York: Amid signs of thaw in ties between India and the US, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio here on Monday, during which they agreed on “sustained engagement”.
Jaishankar posted on X after the meeting, “Our conversation covered a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern. Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas”.
He called the meeting good and added, “We will remain in touch”.
Significantly, it was the first meeting of the day for Rubio, who is making a round of bilaterals with the world leaders here for the high-level General Assembly session.
Before going into the conference room with a table decked with flowers and flags, they made a cordial appearance before the media waiting outside, and shook hands, but refused to answer questions.
Despite differences on trade and Russian oil purchases, at the diplomatic level, the two nations have strong common interests exemplified by the Quad, the four-nation group that also includes Australia and Japan and is focused on the Indo-Pacific.
Rubio met with Jaishankar and the other two ministers of the Quad in July in Washington, reaffirming the US commitment to cooperation in the region, saying that India and the other two countries “are very important strategic partners and allies of the United States”.
Rubio and Jaishankar also held a bilateral meeting on its sidelines.
After several weeks of tension over the reciprocal tariffs, punitive tariffs for buying Russia’s oil, and harsh rhetoric from Donald Trump, the US President called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to greet his “friend” on his birthday last week.
“He is doing a tremendous job. Narendra: Thank you for your support on ending the War between Russia and Ukraine,” he wrote on Truth Social.
PM Modi thanked him and said on X, “Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights”.
The two countries also resumed their negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with a meeting in New Delhi between Assistant US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch and Commerce Ministry Special Secretary Rajesh Agrawal.
India called the meeting “positive and forward-looking”, with the two sides agreeing to step up efforts to reach an agreement.
However, over the weekend, a new cloud overcast relations between the two countries involving H1B visas for professionals.
Trump announced new highly restrictive rules for the H1B visas that could shut the doors for most professionals by requiring $100,000 fees.
(IANS)
