Rubio Meets EAM in His First Bilateral Meet; Commits to Ties

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his first bilateral engagement since taking charge on Tuesday, met external affairs minister S Jaishankar, with both reaffirming their commitment to stronger US-India ties especially in technology, defense, and energy.

- Prashant Jha

WASHINGTON:

The two met right after participating in a Quad foreign ministers meeting with their Australian and Japanese counterparts, a meeting at which they agreed to work for a free and open Indo-Pacific, a goal reiterated in bilateral discussions. Quad ministers agreed to deepen ties in the areas of maritime, tech and economic security in the context of "increasing threats".

Jaishankar said that he was "delighted" to meet Rubio for the latter's first bilateral engagement after assuming office. He said they had both extensively reviewed the bilateral partnership, of which he credited Rubio for having been a "strong advocate". As a senator, Rubio had consistently brought forth legislation supportive of deeper strategic ties between India and the US, and India's position in conflicts both with China and Pakistan. "Also exchanged views on a wide range of regional and global issues. Look forward to closely working with him to advance our strategic cooperation."

Jaishankar also met President Donald Trump's national security advisor Michael Waltz at the White House on Tuesday, their second meeting in just over three weeks. "Discussed strengthening our friendship to ensure mutual benefit and enhance global stability and prosperity. Looking forward to working together on an active and outcome-oriented agenda," the minister said on X after the meeting.

Deeper tech, defense and energy ties