External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin in Washington D.C. on Friday.
Jaishankar thanked Blinken and Austin for the assistance provided by the United States to help respond to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India.
The External Affairs Minister and the American Secretary of State noted that the India-US relations had grown stronger over the years.
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Jaishankar’s visit is first high-level visit from India to the US after Joe Biden succeeded Donald Trump as the American President. Austin, who was on a visit to New Delhi from March 19 to 20, was the first top US official to travel to India after the change of guard in the White House. Biden’s special envoy for climate, John Kerry, too visited New Delhi early last month.
The External Affairs Minister, however, had a bilateral meeting with the US Secretary of State on the sideline of a G7 conclave in London earlier this month.
Jaishankar tweeted after his meeting with Austin that he had a comprehensive conversation with the American Secretary of Defence about further developing strategic and defence partnership between India and the US.
“Exchanged views on contemporary security challenges. Expressed appreciation of the US military role in responding to the Covid situation,” he added.
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