External affairs minister S Jaishankar
NEW DELHI: The “historic” India-US trade deal is in the final stages of detailing and will be completed very soon, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said as he concluded his “productive and positive” visit to the US, thanking counterpart Marco Rubio for his hospitality.Jaishankar said on X that the deal opens up a new phase in India-US bilateral ties, with vast possibilities for the relationship, signalling renewed high-level engagements in the next few months.“Our critical mineral cooperation is advancing rapidly. Expect engagement on strategic issues, defence and energy in the coming days. Overall, a strong momentum is evident,” said the minister, who was in the US to participate in a critical minerals ministerial hosted by Rubio.According to the MEA, Jaishankar, in the meeting, highlighted the challenges of excessive concentration and the importance of de-risking supply, and also spoke about structured international cooperation. “He also highlighted India’s efforts towards greater resilience through the national critical mineral mission that we have. And he conveyed support for the FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement) initiative that has been set in motion post this Critical Minerals Partnership,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. During his visit, Jaishankar also had a bilateral meeting with Rubio, which saw the leaders welcoming the trade deal and stressing the importance of the two democracies working together to unlock new economic opportunities and advance their shared energy security goals.According to the US state department, the leaders 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,” said the US readout. The fact that both countries seem to have finally resolved their differences over trade has also raised hopes of an early visit to India by President Donald Trump for the Quad summit, which India would like to host as soon as possible.
