Jaishankar meets US NSA Jake Sullivan, progress in bilateral ties on agenda

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and discussed the progress in bilateral relations between the two countries and several measures to take it forward. Jaishankar, who arrived in Washington from New York on Wednesday after addressing the 78th General Assembly session of the United Nations on Tuesday, will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken later in the day. “Began my Washington DC visit with a meeting with NSA @JakeSullivan46. Recognised the tremendous progress in our bilateral relationship this year and discussed taking it forward,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. The White House was not immediately available for comments on the meeting. Jaishankar will meet Blinken at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department later in the day. He is also scheduled to meet the US Trade Representatives Katherine Tie. This is the highest level meeting between the two countries after the recently concluded G-20 summit in New Delhi and amidst India-Canada diplomatic row. While the meeting between the two top diplomats was scheduled much before the Canadian crisis broke out, the US has been urging India to cooperate in the Canadian investigation into the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has alleged “potential” involvement of the agents of the Indian government in the killing of Nijjar. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India has rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”. Jaishankar is also expected to hold a series of meetings with senior officials of the Biden administration, review the progress made between the two countries after the historic State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June and talk about other regional and global issues. The minister is also expected to engage with the diaspora, and think-tank community and interact with leaders from the corporate sector.