Jaishankar, Rubio welcome India-US trade deal; discuss critical minerals & energy security

New York: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday welcomed the trade deal reached between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed formalising bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration, mining and processing. Rubio held bilateral talks with Jaishankar at the State Department ahead of the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by the United States on Wednesday.

“Delighted to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this afternoon. A wide-ranging conversation that covered our bilateral cooperation agenda, as well as regional and global issues,” Jaishankar said in a post on X after the meeting.
He said discussions on the India-US Strategic Partnership covered trade, energy, nuclear cooperation, defence, critical minerals and technology, adding that both sides agreed on early meetings of various mechanisms to advance shared interests.

A readout issued by State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Rubio and Jaishankar welcomed the trade deal reached between Trump and Modi, stressing the importance of the two democracies working together to unlock new economic opportunities and advance shared energy security goals. The two leaders also discussed formalising cooperation on critical minerals exploration, mining and processing, the readout said.

According to the State Department, Rubio and Jaishankar concluded their meeting by reaffirming their commitment to expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation through the Quad, comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan, and noted that a prosperous Indo-Pacific region remains vital to advancing shared interests.

In a separate post, Rubio said he met Jaishankar to discuss bilateral cooperation on critical minerals and efforts to unlock new economic opportunities between the two countries, while also commending the India-US trade deal.

Jaishankar is on a visit to the United States from February 2 to 4 and will participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial, which aims to strengthen and diversify global critical minerals supply chains. The meeting came a day after Trump announced on Truth Social that India and the US had agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will reduce reciprocal tariffs on New Delhi from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday and discussed advancing bilateral economic partnership and strategic cooperation.
“Pleased to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC today. Had a useful discussion on advancement of India-US economic partnership and strategic cooperation,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.

Bessent said the two discussed the importance of securing supply chains along with other national and economic security issues of mutual interest. Jaishankar’s meetings with Bessent and Rubio followed Trump’s announcement of the trade deal between India and the US, including a reduction in reciprocal tariffs imposed by Washington.

Bessent has earlier been critical of India’s purchases of Russian oil and had recently said European countries were unwilling to align with the US on imposing tariffs on New Delhi due to their trade agreement with India.