India-U.S. working to address regional, global challenges: Blinken after Jaishankar meeting

External Affairs Ministers of India and U.S. discuss regional and global challenges, climate crisis, and bilateral cooperation in Washington.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken met in Washington DC and discussed working together to address regional and global challenges.

Mr. Jaishankar— on his first visit to the U.S. capital since the third Modi government took office— met Mr. Blinken on Tuesday (October 1, 2024) at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the U.S. State Department.

Mr. Blinken said after the meeting, "Together, the U.S. and India are working to address regional and global challenges. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and I met to discuss our continued cooperation on the climate crisis and ways we can promote regional security and prosperity."

Mr. Jaishankar, meanwhile, said, "Delighted to hold talks with Mr. Blinken in Washington DC. We followed up on the Delaware bilateral and the QUAD meetings. Our discussions also covered deepening bilateral cooperation, the situation in West Asia, recent developments in the Indian subcontinent, the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine." The Minister was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.

The U.S. President hosted Mr. Modi at his Delaware residence for a bilateral meeting on September 21. They were later joined by leaders from Australia and Japan for the QUAD Leaders' Summit in Wilmington, Delaware.

According to U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Blinken "discussed the United States and India's enduring commitment to deepening bilateral ties, coordinating closely on regional and global challenges, and advancing cooperation on critical and emerging technologies".

"Mr. Blinken noted Prime Minister Modi's August visit to Kyiv and reiterated the importance of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine," he said and added that plans to expand collaboration on clean energy initiatives to address the global climate crisis were also discussed.