External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday embarked on a three-day visit to the US to attend a Washington-led ministerial meeting on critical minerals supply chain.
Jaishankar’s visit assumes significance as it is being seen as an opportunity to address the sharp downturn in the relations between the two strategic partners. It is expected that the minister will hold bilateral talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials of the Trump administration.
“External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the United States from February 2 to 5 to participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
It said the ministerial will focus on supply chain resilience, clean energy transitions, and strategic cooperation in critical minerals.
“During the visit, the external affairs minister will also hold meetings with senior members of the US administration,” it said.
Earlier on January 13, Rubio spoke over the phone with Jaishankar, reviewing key areas of cooperation, including civil nuclear energy, trade talks, and regional security in the Indo-Pacific.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor described it as a positive call.
“They discussed next steps regarding our bilateral trade negotiations, critical minerals, and a possible meeting next month,” Gor wrote on X.
India-US ties have been reeling under severe stress after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duties, for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil.
Apart from the tariff issue, the relations witnessed a downturn on a number of other issues that included Trump’s claim of ending the India-Pakistan conflict in May last year and Washington’s new immigration policy.
US President Trump on January 26 expressed confidence on a “good” trade deal with India and called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “fantastic leader” and a “great friend”.
Trump made the remark on the sidelines of his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“I have a great respect for your prime minister (Modi). He is a fantastic man and a friend of mine. We are gonna have a good deal,” Donald Trump said in response to a question on the India-US trade deal.
“India wanted to make me happy. Modi is a very good guy, and he knew I was not happy. And it was important to make me happy. We can raise tariffs on them very quickly,” Trump said.
Trade negotiations between officials of the two countries have been underway since before the tariffs took effect, with formal talks beginning in March-April last year after a February greenlight for talks.
One of Trump’s key aides, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, claimed that a potential trade deal between India and the US fell through because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi “not calling” the US President.
