India and the US have moved to set aside the rancour and strain that characterised bilateral relations over the past year, with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and US secretary of state Marco Rubio discussing ways to deepen cooperation in defence, energy, technology, critical minerals, while also addressing the fallout from the conflict in West Asia.
The two leaders held talks at Hyderabad House, a day after Rubio arrived in India for a four-day visit that will also see him participating in a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting on May 26 that is expected to focus on the Indo-Pacific.
India strongly raised disruptions to energy supplies caused by the US-Israel war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter said.
The two sides reviewed collaboration under their comprehensive global strategic partnership, covering trade, energy, defence and security, critical minerals, AI, nuclear energy, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics cooperation, and people-to-people ties, Jaishankar said.
Rubio, on his first visit to India as secretary of state, described India as “one of our most important strategic partners” and a “leading trade partner” and sought to dispel the impression that bilateral relations had lost momentum over the past year.
The two sides held frank discussions on trade, US immigration policies and energy supply disruptions caused by the West Asia conflict, which was triggered by the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran in February.
