Highlighting a “very high degree of trust” between India and the United States, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today revealed the details of his visit to Washington for Donald Trump’s inauguration and subsequent top-level meetings with senior Trump administration officials.
Describing the special treatment extended to him during his visit as India’s representative, Dr Jaishankar said, “It is very clear that the Trump administration is prioritising the bilateral relationship with India.”
Dr Jaishankar said that one of the concerns he raised in his meeting with his US counterpart Marco Rubio was that of the delay in the visa process for Indian citizens. “It hampers work, business, travel, and tourism, as well as people-to-people ties” the minister said, adding that his concerns were noted by the new US Secretary of State.
Grateful for the warmth and the hospitality he received, and for being given the front seat at the Trump inauguration, Dr Jaishankar said he represented Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his Special Envoy at the inaugural function. On Monday he had described the front-row seat gesture as a “great honour”.
He had reportedly even carried a letter from the Prime Minister for President Trump. Dr Jaishankar also said that in his 40-year-long dealings with the United States, this was the first time ever that he was part of a presidential inauguration.
Speaking further on his meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Walz, Dr Jaishankar said that the efforts of the new Trump administration are to build on the “strong foundation” laid by the previous Trump administration between 2017 and 2021.
Speaking about the Quad foreign ministers’ meet which was held on day-one of the Trump administration, Dr Jaishankar said that the US is keen to expand the scope and scale of the Quad, adding that Washington also wants to intensify the activities of the multilateral grouping which is a diplomatic and security partnership set up by US, India, Japan, and Australia to maintain peace and freedom of navigation under a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.
“If I were to share my overall impressions, I would say one, it was very keen. It was very clear that the Trump administration was keen to have India present at the inaugural itself. They’re clearly prioritising the bilateral relationship. Secondly, in the meetings, it was also evident that they would like to build on the foundation of the relationship, a foundation which the first Trump administration also contributed a lot to building,” Dr Jaishankar said.
He further highlighted that “President Trump and Prime Minister Modi at that time took a number of initiatives, and we have seen that mature in many ways. And the third impression was, with regard to the Quad, a very strong sense that the current administration would reciprocate our desire as well to take the Quad further, to intensify its activities.”
During his visit, besides attending President Trump and Vice-President Vance’s oath ceremony at the US Capitol Rotunda, Dr Jaishankar held a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings. He held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from US, Japan, and Australia. He also held the multilateral Quad ministers’ meeting. He also interacted with several top Trump administration officials during a series of events that followed the oath ceremony. These included the events planned at the White House, as well as the multiple presidential inauguration balls. He also met the 56th Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and nominee for the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Kash Patel.
