Jaishankar in US: EAM shares details about meeting with Rubio, says ‘review of bilateral cooperation…’ | India News

India-US ties: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in the US for the Critical Minerals Ministerial Meeting hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Speaking about his meetings with the US Minister, EAM said that the two sides reviewed their bilateral cooperation and issues such as the Indo-Pacific, West Asia and Ukraine were discussed.

Speaking more about the meetings, EAM Jaishankar said that the discussions ranged from global developments to India-US relations.

“We went over our bilateral cooperation in quite some detail. When foreign ministers meet, it’s natural to discuss the diplomatic agenda. Also the calendar; what we expect each of us to do together this year, so a lot of our discussion is focused on the bilateral side. But again, foreign ministers meet and we talk about our own business: the Indo-Pacific, what’s going on in West Asia, the Middle East, Gaza and the Ukraine conflict. The Western Hemisphere. In a sense, we discussed the world, we discussed our relationship, and it was a very open conversation,” he said.

At the Critical Minerals meeting, EAM underlined India’s support to the FORGE (Resource Forum, Geostrategic Engagement) initiative.

“I am here to participate in the Ministerial Meeting on Critical Minerals, organized by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and close to 50 countries were here. The meeting continues today, and that was the main reason. The discussion was very good. Critical minerals are a very important issue; the US has been a partner for several years. Today they launched a new edition, FORGE, which we also support. It is a continuation of the Mine Security Partnership. In my opinion, it was a fruitful and productive meeting. Results-oriented meeting,” EAM said.

Meanwhile, EAM Jaishankar, in his address to the ministry earlier, emphasized that “over-concentration” in critical mineral supply chains poses a major global risk. He also called for structured international cooperation to “de-risk” them as India deepens its engagement with the US-led strategic minerals framework.

Jaishankar’s remarks come at a time when India’s participation in the US-led critical minerals dialogue marks a decisive shift from strategic intent to industrial implementation.

The announcement of dedicated rare earth corridors in India’s 2026 Budget is a particularly important signal because it reflects a move beyond resource security towards domestic processing, separation, magnet manufacturing and build-up of downstream capacities.

India-US trade deal

EAM’s visit coincides with the agreement reached between India and the US on a trade deal. The minister says a detailed assessment of the negotiations is currently underway.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the Critical Minerals meeting in Washington DC, EAM Jaishankar said: “It was not about me, because this issue is being taken up by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal (negotiations on trade agreement). The Prime Minister and the US President had a meeting; some announcements came out of that. Later, the details of the trade negotiations are going on as we speak.”

Speaking in Parliament earlier, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal emphasized that both countries have finalized various areas of the bilateral trade agreement after intense negotiations.

Before this, US President Donald Trump said that Washington and New Delhi “agreed on a trade agreement” with the US, reducing mutual customs duties from 25 percent to 18 percent.

(with ANI entries)