Jaishankar, Rubio discuss ties amid bid to reach trade deal

NEW DELHI: EAM S Jaishankar met his US counterpart Marco Rubio in Malaysia amid efforts to repair the India-US relationship, keeping high-level engagement between the two countries going despite differences over bilateral matters and geopolitical issues that have bogged down ties.

There was no readout by either side of the meeting till late in the evening and Jaishankar only said in a post on X that he appreciated the discussion on bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues. Later, while delivering India's national statement at the East Asia summit, Jaishankar took a dig at the US and European countries as he said principles of energy trade were being applied selectively.

Second meeting between EAM, Rubio in 2 months

It is understood that Jaishankar and Rubio touched upon ongoing efforts to finalise a bilateral trade agreement and also the issue of energy trade. The Donald Trump administration has slapped India with an additional 25% tariff for its oil procurement from Russia, accusing India of bankrolling Russia's war on Ukraine.

This was the second meeting between Jaishankar and Rubio in the past two months. They had also met on the margins of the UNGA last month where they discussed cooperation in a number of areas. They had also agreed to continue working together to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including through Quad. There was no confirmation about whether there was any discussion in the meeting on Monday on the Quad summit that India has to host in the near future.

Later in the day, Jaishankar also met his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi and discussed cooperation among Quad countries. According to a Japanese readout, Motegi emphasised that Japan and India play a significant role in realising peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and expressed his desire to fulfill this role together with other Quad States. "Agreed to work closely to implement the joint vision for the next decade of our cooperation. Also exchanged perspectives on the global situation and our Indo Pacific cooperation. Our conversation reflected the strength and warmth of our Special Strategic and Global Partnership," said Jaishankar in a post on X.