Jaishankar Meets Rubio: Bilateral & Global Issues

New York, Sep 22 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio here on Monday and discussed a range of bilateral and international issues of "current concern".

The meeting at Lotte New York Palace on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly is the first face-to-face interaction between them following President Donald Trump's imposition of an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, taking the total levies imposed on India to 50 per cent.

"Good to meet @SecRubio this morning in New York. Our conversation covered a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern. Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas. We will remain in touch," Jaishankar said on social media.

They had last met in July in Washington DC for the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Their meeting takes place on the same day India and the US will hold discussions to achieve an early conclusion of a trade agreement.

A delegation led by Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal will meet with the US side on Monday in the city. "The delegation plans to take forward the discussions with a view to achieving early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Trade Agreement," the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had said in a statement.

The statement added that during the last visit of officials from the office of the US Trade Representative to India on September 16, positive discussions were held on various aspects of the trade deal, and it was decided to intensify efforts in this regard.

Jaishankar, who arrived in New York on Sunday for the high-level UNGA week, will hold a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines of the session and will deliver the national statement at the General Debate on September 27 from the iconic green UNGA podium.