EAM Jaishankar to visit US ahead of Trump’s second term
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will visit the United States from December 24-29, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Monday.
“He will meet counterparts to discuss key bilateral, regional, and global issues. During the visit, EAM will also chair a conference of the Consul Generals of India in the USA,” a statement issued by the MEA said.
This significant visit comes ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump taking the oath of office for his second term on January 20.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated Trump on his election victory, expressing his eagerness to work closely with the Republican Party leader to strengthen India-US relations across sectors such as technology, defense, energy, and space.
“Had a great conversation with my friend, President Donald Trump, congratulating him on his spectacular victory. Looking forward to working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defense, energy, space, and several other sectors,” PM Modi had posted on X.
Both leaders had also affirmed their commitment to global peace, with Trump praising India and PM Modi, saying the whole world loves him and calling India a magnificent country with a magnificent leader.
At the same time, PM Modi had fostered strong ties with US President Joe Biden during his presidency. The two leaders met several times, including on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil and at Biden’s home in Delaware in September.
Biden also visited India for the G20 summit last year, where he and PM Modi held bilateral meetings. During Biden’s state visit to Washington, PM Modi noted their ability to discover new areas of cooperation.
The two leaders upgraded the Quad, a group for Indo-Pacific cooperation comprising India, the US, Japan, and Australia, to a summit level. They also established the I2U2 group, including India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the US, to mirror the Quad on the western side of India.
