Jaishankar, Rubio hold phone talks on nuclear cooperation, defence and energy

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his United States counterpart Marco Rubio spoke over the phone on Tuesday, a day after Sergio Gor, the envoy of Washington, D.C., to New Delhi, struck a positive note about the bilateral relations, which had been on a slide over the past several months.

“Just concluded a good conversation with Marco Rubio. Discussed trade, critical minerals, nuclear cooperation, defence and energy. Agreed to remain in touch on these and other issues,” Jaishankar posted on X after his phone call with Rubio.

The phone call took place a day after Gor said in New Delhi that Trump’s administration in Washington, D.C., would next month invite India to join Pax Silica, an initiative led by the US and supported by eight other nations, to counter China’s dominance in rare earth mining and refining, and to secure the Artificial Intelligence supply chain.

“They discussed next steps regarding our bilateral trade negotiations, critical minerals and a possible meeting next month,” Gor posted on X after the phone call between Jaishankar and Rubio.

Apart from Trump’s tariff tirade against India, New Delhi’s relations with Washington, D.C., came under stress through 2025 over the US president’s public claim about making India stop buying oil from Russia, his growing bonhomie with the civil and military leadership of Pakistan and his boasts about mediating the May 10 ceasefire between the two South Asian neighbours.

“The United States and India are bound not just by shared interests, but by a relationship anchored at the highest levels. Real friends can disagree but always resolve their differences in the end,” Gor had said on Monday.