Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with U.S. counterpart Rubio, NSA Mike Waltz after Quad ministerial

Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with U.S. counterpart Rubio, NSA Mike Waltz after Quad ministers meet in Washington, reaffirming commitment to Indo-Pacific stability

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday (January 21, 2025) attended the maiden Quad ministerial of the new Trump administration along with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the United States, besides holding meetings with newly-appointed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

Quad is a grouping of four countries aimed at maintaining peace and law and order in the Indo-Pacific region.

In less than an hour after entering the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department as the Secretary of State, Mr. Rubio, 53, held his first multilateral with his Quad counterparts Jaishankar, Penny Wong from Australia and Japan's Iwaya Takeshi.

The four leaders posed for a group picture at the State Department towards the end of the hour-long meeting. However, they did not take any questions. A readout of the meeting is expected later.

The meeting was to reaffirm the importance of working with allies across the world on things that are important to America and Americans, Mr. Rubio told NBC News earlier in the day.

"Attended a productive Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today in Washington DC. Thank @secrubio for hosting us and FMs @SenatorWong and Takeshi Iwaya for their participation," Mr. Jaishankar posted on X after the ministerial.

He added, “Significant that the Quad FMM took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump administration. This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states. Our wide-ranging discussions addressed different dimensions of ensuring a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”