Washington DC, February 3 — External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department on Tuesday at 3:30 pm (US local time). The meeting is part of Jaishankar’s three-day US visit, which includes participation in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by Washington on February 4.
The State Department says Secretary Rubio will convene international partners to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains, aiming to bolster reliable and resilient networks important for economic and national security, technological leadership, and the energy transition.
Ahead of the ministerial, Jaishankar welcomed a recent India–US trade announcement, saying he ‘welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade’ and noting the pact will ‘create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies.’ He added that the agreement will strengthen ‘Make in India’ efforts and encourage trusted technology ties, calling a robust economic relationship the strongest foundation for the strategic partnership.
The trade arrangement followed a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. Under the deal, the US agreed to reduce reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 percent to 18 percent, effective immediately.
PM Modi said on social media he was ‘delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent’ and thanked President Trump on behalf of India’s 1.4 billion people. He described deeper cooperation between the two large democracies as unlocking ‘immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation’ and praised Trump’s leadership on global peace and stability.
President Trump, in a social media post, said India will move to reduce ‘tariffs and non-tariff barriers’ on US goods to zero and pledged that India would significantly increase purchases of American products, including energy, to more than USD 500 billion. He also said Prime Minister Modi had agreed to cut purchases of Russian oil and buy more US (and potentially Venezuelan) energy, framing the shift as helping to end the war in Ukraine.
Beyond trade, India–US engagement during this period covers broader strategic areas. Earlier this month, a high-level Finance Ministerial convened by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent included India (represented by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw) and other economies to discuss diversifying critical minerals and rare-earth supply chains. On defense, ties have continued to deepen: on January 27, a US Congressional delegation led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers met with India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor to discuss defense industry collaboration under the recently concluded 10-year Major Defence Partnership Framework Agreement.
Jaishankar’s arrival in Washington coincided with the Modi–Trump call and related trade announcement. (ANI)
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