Washington, Feb. 4: Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC, on Tuesday (February 3), where the two discussed “formalising” bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration, mining, and processing. Jaishankar and Rubio also “commended” the trade deal between Indian and the US.

“Delighted to meet US @SecRubio this afternoon. A wide-ranging conversation that covered our bilateral cooperation agenda, regional and global issues,” Jaishankar wrote in a post on X after the meeting.

“Facets of India-US Strategic Partnership discussed included trade, energy, nuclear, defence, critical minerals and technology. Agreed on the early meetings of various mechanisms to advance our shared interests,” he said.

Rubio, in a post on X, said that he and Jaishankar held discussions on bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration and also discussed working together to unlock new economic opportunities between the countries.

“Met with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar to discuss our bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration and work together to unlock new economic opportunities between our two countries. We also commended the trade deal between the United States and India,” the US Secretary of State said in a post on his official X account.

A readout of the bilateral meeting by State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that Rubio and Jaishankar “welcomed the trade deal reached between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi. The two leaders emphasised the importance of our democracies working together to unlock new economic opportunities and advance our shared energy security goals.”

Pigott further said that Rubio and Jaishankar “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.”

The meeting between Rubio and Jaishankar comes after PM Modi and Trump agreed to a trade deal under which the US will bring down its reciprocal tariff on India to 18 per cent from 25 per cent.

Jaishankar is on a visit to the United States from Feb 2- 4, where he is scheduled to take part in the Critical Minerals Ministerial being convened by Rubio.-Agencies