New York: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio in New York on Monday on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
The meeting will be the first face to face interaction between the two leaders after the imposition of tariff on Indian goods by US president Donald Trump. The two had last met in July this year in Washington during the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
Jaishankar arrived in New York on Sunday for the UNGA week and met Theresa P Lazaro, secretary of foreign affairs, Philippines.
“We followed up on the recent State Visit of President @bongbongmarcos to India. Also discussed our cooperation in the UN and the Indo-Pacific region,” Jaishankar posted on X.
Lazaro said it was a pleasure to meet Jaishankar again after President Bongbong Marcos’s “successful” state visit to India in August.
“Our discussion today reaffirms our two countries’ commitment as Strategic Partners to actively develop cooperation in political, defence and security, the maritime domain, etc,” she said.
Jaishankar will deliver the national statement at the General Debate on September 27 from the iconic green UNGA podium. During the week, he will also hold a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings.
Jaishankar’s meeting with Rubio comes on the same day India and the US will hold discussions towards achieving an early conclusion of a trade agreement.
A delegation led by Union commerce and industries minister Piyush Goyal will meet with the US delegation on Monday in New York.
“The delegation plans to take forward the discussions with a view to achieving early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
During the last visit of the team of officials from the office of the United States Trade Representative to India on September 16, positive discussions were held on various aspects of the trade deal, and it was decided to intensify efforts in this regard, the statement added.
