Jaishankar in US; to meet Rubio on critical minerals cooperation

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in New York for a threeday official visit to the United States and is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Tuesday as part of talks focused on cooperation in critical mineralsThe meeting comes a day after a phone call between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra ModiFollowing the call the president announced a trade deal with IndiaThe announcement has added momentum to highlevel engagements between the two sidesJaishankarrsquos visit from February 2 to February 4 includes participation in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by Rubio according to an official announcement The ministerial will bring together partner countries to discuss supply chain resilience and strategic cooperationThe External Affairs Minister is scheduled to travel from New York to Washington during the visitHe is likely to hold bilateral talks with Rubio on Tuesday followed by participation in the ministerial on Wednesday US Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the conferenceThe bilateral talks are expected to review a wide range of issues including regional and global mattersThese include developments related to the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East as well as economic and strategic cooperationIn a social media post on X EAM Jaishankar welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade following the conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald TrumpldquoThis will create more jobs spur growth and promote innovation in both economies It will strengthen lsquoMake in Indiarsquo endeavors and encourage trusted technology ties The opportunities in our economic engagement are truly vast and we are confident of realizing themrdquo he saidldquoA robust economic relationship is the strongest foundation for our strategic partnershiprdquo the EiAM wroteOn Wednesday EAM Jaishankar would attend the Critical Minerals MinisterialThe Critical Minerals Ministerial will focus on supply chain resilience clean energy transitions and strategic cooperation in the critical minerals sectorThese materials are essential for advanced manufacturing clean energy technologies and emerging industriesIn addition to the ministerial Jaishankar will meet senior members of the US administration Details of those meetings were not disclosedIndia and the United States have increased engagement in recent years on issues linked to economic securityCritical minerals have become a central element of that dialogue with both countries seeking to ensure reliable and diversified supply chainsThe US State Department said on February 4 that the United States will welcome delegations to advance collective efforts to strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chainsldquoThis historic gathering will create momentum for collaboration to secure these critical components vital to technological innovation economic strength and national securityrdquo the State Department saidJaishankarrsquos Washington engagements are part of regular highlevel exchanges between New Delhi and WashingtonThe two sides maintain frequent dialogue on diplomacy trade technology and securityCritical minerals have gained importance globally in recent yearsThey are widely used in clean energy systems batteries and other strategic sectors with demand rising as countries expand renewable energy and advanced manufacturingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever