By Srijita Chakraborty
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday held talks with Sergio Gor, the US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia and President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next Ambassador to India. It was hosted in New York as the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was approaching.
The US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs leaders issued a statement on the need for “promoting the success of the US-India relationship” and analysed strategic means to further bilateral cooperation. The engagement occurs as both governments are interested in balancing strategic relations with contentious trade and energy disputes.
Jaishankar also had a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the day at the Lotte New York Palace. In their meeting, they discussed a myriad of global and bilateral issues. This was their first face-to-face interaction since Washington’s decision to raise tariffs on Indian imports by an additional 25 per cent, in response to New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian crude. The move has pushed total levies on India to 50 per cent, complicating trade talks between the two countries.
Jaishankar wrote on social media that his meeting with Rubio reaffirmed the need for “sustained engagement” to push ahead on priority areas. The minister, who arrived in New York on Sunday, is set for a busy week of bilateral and multilateral meetings and will deliver India’s national statement at the UNGA on September 27.