&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "From critical minerals to nuclear ties: What Jaishankar discussed with Rubio, Bessent after India-US trade deal")
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday (Feb 3) said that he held meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his high-level visit to Washington. In a post on X, Jaishankar said that he had "a useful discussion on advancement of India - US economic partnership and strategic cooperation" with Bessent, he mentioned that his discussion with Rubio centered around a wide ranging topics including bilateral cooperation agenda, regional and global issues. Jaishankar's meeting with the top men of the Trump administration comes US President Donald Trump announced a major trade deal with India after speaking with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, slashing reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, effective immediately.
In a post, Jaishankar said that his meeting with Rubio underscored the facets of India - US Strategic Partnership including cooperation on trade, energy, nuclear, defence, critical minerals and technology. He also hinted at continuous engagements between the diplomats of both the countries saying that early meetings may be held of various mechanisms to advance shared interests.
Soon after, Rubio also shared images with the Indian EAM and reiterated that they discussed bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration between the two countries. They also discussed scope to work together to unlock new economic opportunities between our two countries. “We also commended the trade deal between the United States and India,” Rubio said.
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EAM Jaishankar will also attend first Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC on Wednesday. It will bring together officials from more than 50 countries to strengthen cooperation on securing and diversifying global supply chains for key minerals, according to US State Department. Jaishankar's participation highlights India's role in the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) and the new Pax Silica initiative aimed at securing AI and semiconductor supply chains.
India-US trade deal
Prime Minister Modi confirmed the trade deal with the United States on Monday (Feb 2) and appreciated President Donald Trump’s leadership, terming it “vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity.” Trump claimed that India will stop buying Russian oil as the part of the deal. As part of the deal, Trump, who had imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports late last year and later doubled the tariffs on India to 50 per cent punishing Delhi for buying oil from Russia, reduced the tariffs to 18 per cent. This puts India in an advantageous position in comparison to competing economies. The resilience of Indian negotiators finally ended on a happy note after months of trade tensions and inappropriate criticism from Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro several times. However, the final text and technical details of the trade deal are still being "papered."
