Jaishankar meets Blinken & Sullivan in US, holds meetings of Indian diplomats

Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Friday (December 27) said he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his ongoing visit to the United States.

In a post on X, Jaishankar said that he and Blinken met on Thursday evening and reviewed the bilateral relationship as well as regional and global developments.

As the Joe Biden administration is in its final weeks, this is likely the final on-the-record meeting between the two foreign ministers. India is currently preparing for the incoming Donald Trump administration and appears to be cautious optimistic.

As Trump is a brutal transactionalist who sees the world in terms of trade and tariffs and ranks personal relationships and interests above national policies and national interests, as is visible in his friendly ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the enmity between the United States and Russia, India is looking forward for his administration to take root starting next month and see how it treats India.

In the post on X, Jaishankar said, “Reviewed the advancement of India-US partnership over the last four years. Agreed that our cooperation has strengthened in many domains, just as our comfort levels have grown correspondingly. Confident that India-US relationship will serve our mutual interests as well as global good. (sic).”

Separately, Jaishankar shared on X that he met National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan on Friday morning.

Jaishankar said, “Good to meet US NSA Jake Sullivan in Washington DC this morning. A wide ranging discussion on the progress of India-US strategic partnership. Also exchanged views on current regional and global developments. (sic)”

Even though Trump has packed his incoming administration with unconventional figures supportive of adversarial nations, such as Tulsi Gabbard, JD Vance, and Elon Musk, the choices for Secretary of State-designate and NSA, Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz, are conventional politicians. Both of them are China hawks and Rubio is a champion of India-US ties.

Waltz has indicated that there could be some continuity between the approaches of two administrations despite Trump and his allies’ yearslong fawning approach to adversaries like Russia. Following a meeting with Sullivan as part of the transition, Waltz warned US adversaries that their attempts to pit the incoming Trump administration against the outgoing Biden administration would not succeed.

Waltz said the two administrations were “one team” regarding adversaries.

“Jake Sullivan and I have had discussions. We have met. For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity, that they can play one administration off the other, they are wrong…We are hand in glove. We are one team with the United States in this transition,” said Waltz.

In addition to meeting Blinken and Sullivan, Jaishankar also held a meeting of senior Indian diplomats posted in the United States at the embassy in Washington DC.