Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has reacted to the buzz around him getting the front-row seat at the inauguration ceremony of US President Donald Trump.
In a witty, one-liner response, the top Indian diplomat said, "Special Envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is naturally treated very well." Jaishankar was addressing a press conference Wednesday (Jan 22) in Washington DC when he was asked a question about his presence at the mega January 20 event.
The envoy was representing India at the inauguration ceremony and reportedly also carried a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Trump. Jaishankar added that the gesture signalled the eagerness of the Trump administration to bolster India-US ties.
Jaishankar meeting with Marco Rubio
Jaishankar also secured the first bilateral meeting with new Secretary of State Marco Rubio, another sign of deepening ties under the Trump administration. The minister addressed the issue of illegal immigration from India in the meeting.
Speaking to the press in Washington DC.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 22, 2025
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“We are very firmly opposed to illegal mobility and illegal migration, because you also know that when something illegal happens, many other illegal activities get joined on to it. And it is not desirable. It is certainly not reputationally good. So we have with every country and the US is no exception, we have always taken the view that if there are any of our citizens who are not here legally, if we are sure that they are our citizens, we have always been, you know, open to legitimate return to India,” Jaishankar told Rubio.
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There was no discussion around tariffs, and the secretary of state said the Trump administration was in favour of advancing economic ties with India.
Jaishankar flags visa concerns
The Indian foreign minister also raised concerns being faced by Indians regarding delays in getting visas.
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“When it came to various regulations and processes, I flagged some concerns which are very widespread in India about delays in visas. The relationship is not well-served if it takes 400 odd days for people to get a visa,” Jaishankar said.
His remarks came amidst the ongoing debate around the H-1B visa programme.
(With inputs from agencies)