New Delhi [India]: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a telephonic conversation earlier this week, focusing on regional and global developments, as well as the need for an early conclusion of the long-pending bilateral trade agreement between the two nations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Wednesday.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a press briefing, stated that the leaders discussed a range of topics. “He discussed several issues. We also had a put out discussion points, which included a conversation on West Asia, regional developments, and some international developments. They also discussed the importance of the early conclusion of the bilateral trade agreement. So, that was more or less what comprised the discussions between two leaders,” said Jaiswal.
Good to speak with @SecRubio today.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 7, 2025
Exchanged perspectives on the Indo-Pacific, the Indian Sub-continent, Europe, Middle East/West Asia and the Caribbean.
Agreed on the importance of the early conclusion of the Bilateral Trade Agreement.
Look forward to remaining in touch.…
Following the conversation, Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter):
“Good to speak with Secretary Marco Rubio today. Exchanged perspectives on the Indo-Pacific, the Indian Sub-continent, Europe, Middle East/West Asia and the Caribbean. Agreed on the importance of the early conclusion of the Bilateral Trade Agreement. Look forward to remaining in touch.”
A statement from US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce reaffirmed the strength of the US-India strategic partnership. It highlighted the progress toward a fair and balanced trade relationship amid ongoing tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump that have impacted global markets.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar today. The Secretary and External Affairs Minister affirmed the strength of the U.S.-India strategic partnership and discussed opportunities to deepen collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region. They also discussed U.S. reciprocal tariffs on India and how to make progress toward a fair and balanced trade relationship,” the statement said.
In response to growing discourse around the Trump administration’s tariff policies, Jaishankar addressed the matter at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit. He said India’s approach to dealing with the evolving trade scenario has been to proactively engage with the US.
“Our strategy is pretty clear; we decided that we will engage the Trump administration earlier on these set of issues, and we were very open with them, constructive with them as they were with us. What we agreed to do was try to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement by the fall of this year,” he said.
Jaishankar also mentioned that India may be the only country to have reached such an understanding with the US since President Trump resumed office for his second term.
“To the best of my knowledge, and I could be corrected here, I think we are the only country after President Trump has resumed the presidency the second time, which has actually reached such an understanding in principle.”
He added that every country affected by the tariffs is formulating its own response, and for India, the priority has been to work toward a trade agreement.
“In our case, our strategy has a goal, which is to see whether it is possible to actually deal with this situation by concluding a bilateral trade agreement, and I should add that in an interesting way, this has long been our objective.”
Jaishankar noted that the current situation has catalyzed serious trade negotiations, although India’s intention to finalize a trade deal with the US predates the latest developments.
“So from the Indian perspective, working out a bilateral deal with the United States is not a negative or unwanted situation, on the contrary, it is something which has long been our objective.”
He also remarked on the intensity of the current trade talks, stating:
“We’ve had more discussions with the Americans in the last six weeks than I suspect we’ve had with the Europeans in the last two years.”