EAM Jaishankar to visit US ahead of Trump’s second term
New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will visit the United States of America from December 24-29, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated on Monday.
“He will be meeting 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,” mentioned a statement issued by the MEA.
The significant visit takes place before US President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office to start his second term on January 20.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dialled Trump and said that he is looking forward to working closely together once again with the Republican Party leader who emerged victorious in the Presidential elections by defeating his Democratic Party rival Kamala Harris.
“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, defence, energy, space and several other sectors,” PM Modi, among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Trump on his election triumph, posted on X.
Both leaders had affirmed the resolution to work together for global peace with Trump reportedly saying that the whole world loves PM Modi, adding that India is a magnificent country and the Indian Prime Minister “a magnificent man”.
At the same time, PM Modi had also developed a great rapport with the US President Joe Biden and relations grew between the two democracies in the four years of his presidency during which the two leaders met personally several times.
They had recently met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil and at the US President’s weekend home in Delaware in September.
Biden had also visited India last year for the G20 summit hosted by PM Modi, during which they also held bilateral meetings.
Biden hosted PM Modi on a state visit to Washington last year showcasing pageantry, and said of PM Modi, “Each time, I was struck by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Together, we’re unlocking a shared future of what I believe to be unlimited potential”.
PM Modi and Biden upgraded the Quad, the group for Indo-Pacific cooperation comprising also Japan and Australia, to the summit level.
They also set up the I2U2 group of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States to mirror the Quad on the western side of India.
