Top Indian, US diplomats meet ahead of Trump’s return

NEW DELHI

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met in Washington with outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in what is likely their last meeting in an official capacity ahead of next month’s return to the White House of Donald Trump.

The two top diplomats “reviewed the advancement of partnership over the last four years," said Jaishankar on X on Thursday.

Jaishankar, on a visit to the US through Sunday, said he was delighted to meet Blinken in Washington.

He said he agreed that “our cooperation has strengthened in many domains, just as our comfort levels have grown correspondingly.”

“Confident that India-US relationship will serve our mutual interests as well as global good,” he said.

The Indian foreign minister is on a US visit ahead of former US President Donald Trump's return to the White House on Jan. 20.

India-US ties under Biden have “deepened significantly,” according to experts.

In January 2023, an initiative to elevate strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments was inaugurated.

Under the Biden administration, the US-India annual trade climbed $190.1 billion, as Washington is New Delhi's largest trading partner.