- Foreign Minister Jaishankar met US Secretary Rubio to discuss critical minerals cooperation
- They covered trade, energy, nuclear, defence, critical minerals, and technology sectors
- Both leaders agreed on early meetings to advance shared strategic partnership interests
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who is in Washington, met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed formalising bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration, mining, and processing. According to Jaishankar, several facets of the India-US strategic partnership were covered during the discussions, including trade, energy, nuclear, defence, critical minerals and technology.
In a post on X, the Foreign Minister said that both leaders agreed on the early meetings of various mechanisms to advance our shared interests.
According to a statement issued by Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott, Rubio and Jaishankar welcomed the India-US trade deal reached between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The two leaders emphasised the importance of our democracies working together to unlock new economic opportunities and advance our shared energy security goals," the statement said.
"Secretary Rubio and Minister Jaishankar concluded their meeting by expressing their commitment to expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation through the Quad. They acknowledged that a prosperous Indo-Pacific region remains vital to advancing our shared interests," the statement added.
The meeting between Jaishankar and Rubio comes a day after Trump announced on Truth Social that India and the US agreed to a trade deal, under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Delhi from 25 to 18 per cent.
Jaishankar is on a visit to the United States from February 2 to 4 and will participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by Rubio on Wednesday.
During the visit, Jaishankar will also hold meetings with senior members of the US administration, the Foreign Ministry had said.
