Trump administration prioritizes India in 1st diplomatic engagements
What's the story
The newly inaugurated Trump administration emphasized its focus on India by holding key meetings with Indian External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar on Wednesday.
Jaishankar was in Washington to attend President Donald Trump's inauguration at the invitation of the US government.
The meeting was held at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the US State Department and lasted for over an hour. They discussed several aspects of the India-US strategic partnership.
Bilateral talks
Jaishankar's meeting with US Secretary of State
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio picked Jaishankar for his first bilateral meeting, underscoring India's importance in US foreign policy.
India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, also attended this meeting.
Before his bilateral talks with Rubio, Jaishankar attended the first Quad ministerial meeting under the new Trump administration.
The Quad is a diplomatic and security partnership between the US, India, Australia, and Japan to ensure peace in the Indo-Pacific region.
Quad meeting
Jaishankar participates in 1st Quad ministerial meeting
The meeting was attended by Australia's Penny Wong and Japan's Iwaya Takeshi.
The meeting with Jaishankar is significant because the first international outreach of previous new US administration has historically been with Canada and Mexico, or with one of its NATO members.
During the meeting, they discussed a wide range of topics, including regional issues and potential to strengthen the US-India partnership, emerging technologies, defense cooperation, energy, and fostering a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
White House visit
Jaishankar's meeting with US National Security Adviser
According to US Department of State, Secretary Rubio also emphasized the Trump Administration's desire to work with India to advance economic ties and address concerns related to irregular migration.
Jaishankar also met US National Security Adviser Mike Walz at the White House. This was Walz's first international meeting since assuming office.
He also briefly interacted with Vivek Ramaswamy.