External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday and their talks focused on global developments, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. Interestingly, the read-out by the US State Department made no mention of the Canada issue.
This comes as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's earlier claim that Blinken would raise the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar during the meeting. On whether Blinken would bring up the case, Trudeau replied: "The Americans will certainly discuss this matter with the Indian government."
An unnamed US official was also quoted by Reuters claiming that Blinken did raise the issue. "Blinken raised the Canadian matter in his meeting, (and) urged the Indian government to cooperate with Canada's investigation," the U.S. official said.
What the read-out said
As per the statement issued by the US State Department, the two leaders held discussions on a full range of issues, including key outcomes of India’s G20 presidency.
"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar today in Washington, D.C. Secretary Blinken and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar discussed a full range of issues, including key outcomes of India’s G20 presidency, and the creation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and its potential to generate transparent, sustainable, and high-standard infrastructure investments," the statement added.
2+2 meeting
The External Affairs Minister also claimed that the talks laid the groundwork for a 2+2 meeting coming up soon. "Great to meet my friend US Secretary of State @SecBlinken at State Department today. A wide-ranging discussion, following up on PM @narendramodi's June visit. Also exchanged notes on global developments. Laid the groundwork of our 2+2 meeting very soon," Jaishankar posted on X on Friday.
New Delhi will host the fifth edition of India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, Jaishankar announced on Thursday. The meetings are likely to occur in the first half of November though the dates are not yet set. The US delegation would be represented by Blinken along with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation. The last 2+2 ministerial was held in Washington DC on April 11.
Jaishankar arrived in New York to attend the 78th General Assembly session of the United Nations on Tuesday. He also held a series of meetings with top Biden administration officials, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, on Thursday.
The White House did not issue a readout of the meeting, Jaishankar posted on X that the meeting "recognized the tremendous progress in our bilateral relationship this year and discussed taking it forward."
Besides think tanks from Washington DC, Jaishankar met US Trade Representative Katherine Tai with whom he discussed trade and economic ties. On Friday, Jaishankar will speak on 'India's Role in the World Today' at the prestigious Hudson Institute think-tank.
