New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held “an open and productive discussion” with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken here on Friday on strengthening strategic New Delhi-Washington ties, the fallout of the raging Israel-Hamas war and regional issues including the geopolitical situation in the Indo-Pacific region. The meeting took place ahead of the fifth edition of the India-US 2+2 Defence and Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue .
“Pleased to meet with Secretary of State @SecBlinken this morning. An open and productive conversation on further developing our strategic partnership,” Jaishankar posted on X.
“This visit has a particular significance because we need to follow up on PM Modi’s June visit and President Biden’s September visit. This is a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, so we take a broader view of what we are doing.” The Minister said that he also spoke about West Asia, Indo-Pacific and other regional issues. India is part of the Quad alliance with the US, Australia and Japan that aims to counter China’s aggressive posturing in the Indo-Pacific region.
“It is always wonderful to be here in India. We are building a remarkable year of engagement. We have not only the strongest bilateral partnership we’ve ever had, but also a regional one, and indeed, a global one that was further evidenced by India’s leadership for the G20 this year,” Blinken said after meeting Jaishankar.