S Jaishankar and Antony Blinken did not answer questions from the media (AFP)
Washington:
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on Thursday and discussed ways to boost bilateral ties amid the diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
#REGARD | Washington, DC: EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. pic.twitter.com/HC7LCUkRSD
– ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2023
“It’s nice to be here again. And of course we had the Prime Minister here this summer. “Thank you to the US for supporting the G20 summit,” S. Jaishankar said while appearing before the media along with Blinken before the meeting will be held at the State Department.
Blinken said he had had “very good conversations” in recent weeks, including at the G20 summit and on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He said he looked forward to his talks with his Indian counterpart.
The two heads of state and government did not answer questions from the media.
Although officials from both sides are unclear about the meeting’s agenda, the recent diplomatic crisis between two friends of America is expected to play a central role in the talks.
“I don’t want to preview the discussions he (Antony Blinken) will have in this meeting (with S. Jaishankar), but as we have made clear, we have raised this. We have spoken to our Indian counterparts about this and “We have encouraged them to cooperate with the Canadian investigation and we continue to encourage them to cooperate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told earlier reporters while answering questions on Wednesday.
While the meeting between the two top diplomats was planned long before the Canadian crisis erupted, the US has called on India to cooperate with Canada’s investigation into the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia earlier this year.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has claimed that the Indian government was behind the killing of Hardeep Nijjar on June 18. India, which labeled Nijjar a terrorist in 2020, has rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated.”
S. Jaishankar, who arrived in Washington from New York on Wednesday after speaking at the 78th United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, met with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan earlier in the day and discussed progress in the bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to move it forward. He also met US Trade Representative Katherine Tie.
“My visit to Washington DC began with a meeting with the NSA @JakeSullivan46. I recognized the tremendous progress in our bilateral relations this year and spoke about taking it forward,” S Jaishankar said in a post on X.
He also met with US Trade Representative Katherine Tie and discussed the growing economic ties between Washington and New Delhi.
“Good to see US Trade Representative @AmbassadorTai. I spoke about our growing trade and economic ties and their broader importance,” the minister said in a post on X.
While in Washington, the foreign minister is expected to hold a series of meetings with senior Biden administration officials, review progress between the two countries following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic state visit in June and discuss other regional and global issues.
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