JAISHANKAR MEETS TOP BIDEN OFFICIALS, FOCUS ON INDO-PACIFIC REGION, QUAD

WASHINGTON: External affairs minister S Jaishankar held a wide range of discussions with top officials of the Biden administration, including national security adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan, US trade representative Katherine Tai and top spy Avril Haines, as well as members of Congress and business leaders on Thursday, in the first such expansive in-person engagement between the two governments.

The minister said in a tweet, which is deemed as the official statement from the ministry, that he and Sullivan discussed the Indo-pacific region, which is a core areas of cooperation for the two nations bilaterally and multilaterally with their Quad partners Australia and Japan; and Afghanistan, which is one of a few areas of dissonance because of India’s unease over US plans to withdraw all its troops by September 11.

The White House National Security Council said in a statement that the two leaders agreed that the two countries “should continue working closely together to address common challenges throughout the Indo-pacific region”.