External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Monday met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The two leaders greeted each other warmly, marking their first face-to-face interaction since trade tensions escalated earlier this year following US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Indian goods over India’s purchase of Russian oil.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said, “Good to meet Secretary Marco Rubio this morning in New York. Our conversation covered a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern. Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas. We will remain in touch.”
The meeting was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen India-US relations, which had come under strain in recent months but have shown signs of recovery. Both countries are working towards concluding a bilateral trade agreement (BTA), with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal leading a delegation for talks in Washington.
In July, President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Indian goods during the trade talks and later announced a similar tariff on India’s purchase of Russian oil. However, negotiations have since resumed. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, “positive discussions were held” during the September 16 visit of officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative to India, and both sides agreed to intensify efforts toward finalising a mutually beneficial deal.
This meeting follows Jaishankar and Rubio’s last interaction in Washington during the 10th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July and their earlier discussions in January this year. However, this is their first direct engagement since the latest round of trade frictions.
President Trump recently expressed confidence that the two countries would face “no difficulty” in arriving at an agreement.
Meanwhile, there has been concern among Indian professionals in the US following Trump’s executive order imposing a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas for skilled tech workers. The White House has since clarified that the fee applies only to new applicants and not to current visa holders.
Earlier this month, during the Senate confirmation hearing for Sergio Gor, Trump’s nominee for US Ambassador to India, Rubio described India as “one of the top relationships that the US has in the world today.”
Introducing Gor before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio underscored India’s pivotal role in shaping the global future, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. “In the 21st century, the story will be written in the Indo-Pacific. It’s so important that we even changed the name of the combatant command to the Indo-Pacific Command. India is at the core of that,” Rubio said.
(With inputs from ANI)