Washington: The United States has vowed to deepen its bilateral relations with India despite moves by Washinton to initiate legal proceedings against a former agent of India’s Research and Analytical Wing as well as against one of the leading industrialists of India.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a bilateral meeting on the sideline of a G7 meeting at Fiuggi in Italy this week. “The US and India are stronger when we are working together. Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar and I met today in Italy to discuss the importance of our continued close cooperation to promote global security and prosperity,” Blinken posted on X after meeting Jaishankar.
Jaishankar also posted about the meeting on X and said he “discussed the state of the world and the India-US partnership, which continues to move forward”, with Blinken. He shared the highlights of the meeting and expressed confidence in the India-US partnership.
This was the first meeting between Jaishankar and Blinken after India’s billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani were indicted in a US federal court for conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud. The US last month also indicted a former officer of India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analytical Wing (RAW), for directing a foiled plot to murder Khalistani Sikh extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York in June 2023.
The meeting Jaishankar and Blinken had at Fiuggi in Italy was possibly the last meeting between them before President Joe Biden exits the White House and President-elect Donald Trump takes over the Oval Office again on January 20. Trump already picked Marco Rubio to succeed Blinken as the US Secretary of State.
