(Image source from: x.com/DrSJaishankar)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. They talked about ways to strengthen the partnership between India and the United States in important areas like trade, defense, energy, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals. In a post on social media platform X, Secretary Rubio mentioned that their discussion revolved around different parts of the relationship aimed at "boosting prosperity for both countries." Rubio shared on X, "I met with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at UNGA. We talked about important parts of our relationship, including trade, energy, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals to create prosperity for India and the United States." The US Department of State also released a statement, emphasizing India's "key importance" to the US and expressed a positive view on India's ongoing involvement in shared important areas.
Met with Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar at UNGA. We discussed key areas of our bilateral relationship, including trade, energy, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals and more to generate prosperity for India and the United States. pic.twitter.com/5dZJAd85Za
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) September 22, 2025
The US Department of State stated, "Secretary Rubio highlighted that India is a crucial partner for the United States and thanked the Indian government for its ongoing involvement in various topics, such as trade, defense, energy, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and other aspects of the partnership." The statement also mentioned, "Secretary Rubio and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar agreed to keep collaborating to support a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including through the Quad." On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He described their talks as positive and stressed the need for ongoing communication.
Good to meet @SecRubio this morning in New York.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 22, 2025
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.
pic.twitter.com/q31vCxaWel
In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar mentioned, "It was nice to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio this morning in New York. We discussed a variety of bilateral and global issues that are currently important. We agreed on the value of ongoing communication to advance our key areas. We will stay in contact." This meeting was their first direct conversation since trade disagreements increased due to high tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Indian goods related to India's acquisition of Russian oil. Despite recent hurdles, the meeting is viewed as part of a larger effort to strengthen India-US relationships, which had faced some challenges but are now on the road to improvement. The two leaders last spoke in Washington at the 10th Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting in July and had also connected earlier in January this year. However, the upcoming bilateral meeting will be their first face-to-face discussion since trade disputes escalated after President Donald Trump imposed high tariffs on Indian goods over the purchase of Russian oil. The 80th session of the UNGA officially began on September 9, 2025, with the High-Level General Debate starting on September 23.
