India-US Economic Partnership Advancement Discussed During Ministerial Meetings

A day after India and the US agreed on a trade deal that would bring tariffs down to 18 per cent, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Wednesday and discussed advancing their economic partnership. After the meeting in Washington DC , Jaishankar posted on X, “Delighted to meet US @SecRubio this afternoon. A wide-ranging conversation that covered our bilateral cooperation agenda, regional and global issues.” “Facets of India-US Strategic Partnership discussed included trade, energy, nuclear, defence, critical minerals and technology. Agreed on the early meetings of various mechanisms to advance our shared interests,” he wrote. Rubio said he met with Jaishankar to discuss bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration, and “work together to unlock new economic opportunities between our two countries”. “We also commended the trade deal between the United States and India.” Jaishankar is visiting the United States from February 2-4 and will participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by Rubio. Tommy Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson, State Department, said, “The Secretary and External Affairs Minister discussed formalizing bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration, mining, and processing. Secretary Rubio and Minister Jaishankar welcomed the trade deal reached between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi. The two leaders emphasized the importance of our democracies working together to unlock new economic opportunities and advance our shared energy security goals.” This refers to US President Trump’s statements that India will buy energy from the US and Venezuela. “Secretary Rubio and Minister Jaishankar concluded their meeting by expressing their commitment to expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation through the Quad. They acknowledged that a prosperous Indo-Pacific region remains vital to advancing our shared interests,” Pigott said. India is expected to host the Quad leaders’ summit this year, as planned last year. After meeting US Treasury Secretary Bessent, Jaishankar said they had a “useful discussion on advancement of India-US economic partnership and strategic cooperation.” In a post, Bessent said, “During our talks, we addressed the importance of securing supply chains, as well as other national and economic security issues of mutual interest,” he said. Bessent had been critical of India’s purchases of Russian oil. Last week, in the wake of the free trade agreement between India and the European Union, he described the Europeans as “very disappointing”, saying they were unwilling to join Washington in imposing tariffs on New Delhi for its purchases of Russian oil because of this trade deal. At the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial, the US aims to advance collective efforts to strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chains. “This historic gathering will create momentum for collaboration to secure these critical components vital to technological innovation, economic strength, and national security,” the US State Department has said. US Vice President J D Vance, Rubio, Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for Global Supply Chains David Copley, and Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg will participate in the meeting.