EAM Jaishankar meets US Commerce Secy Raimondo; discusses semiconductors, critical minerals

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Monday. The meeting focused on sectors such as semiconductors, critical minerals, trusted partnerships, and supply chain resiliency.

Sharing a post on X, Jaishankar wrote, “Great to see Commerce Secretary Secretary Gina Raimondo today in Washington DC.”

“We discussed semiconductors, iCET, critical minerals, trusted partnerships and supply chain resiliency. Value the strides we are making in our tech collaboration and economic partnership,” the post on X added.

The two leaders also discussed the US-India CEO Forum and US-India Commercial Dialogue, two Department of Commerce and Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry-led initiatives that aim to strengthen the US-India trade and investment relationship, according to a readout by US Department of Commerce.

“They also commended the progress to date under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and reiterated their shared commitment to continuing to advance the work to operationalise the IPEF agreements,” the release said.

Jaishankar, who arrived in the US capital on Sunday, is slated to meet his American counterpart Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and other top officials of the department on Tuesday afternoon. During his brief visit in Washington, the external affairs minister also has a series of meetings planned, including discussions with White House officials and an engagement at a think tank. This is Jaishankar’s first visit to the US since the third Modi government took office.

The talks between the External Affairs Minister and the US Secretary of State Blinken come amid the fresh escalation in the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.

A State Department official told ANI that the two leaders are expected to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict apart from a range of bilateral issues.

On Tuesday morning, Jaishankar will also participate in a conversation at The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Earlier on September 28, Jaishankar addressed the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In his strongly-worded warning to Pakistan, Jaishankar underlined Pakistan’s “decades-old policy” of terrorism, warning Islamabad that its “actions will most certainly have consequences.”

Jaishankar arrived in the US earlier this month, where US President Biden hosted Prime Minister Modi at his Delaware residence for a bilateral meeting on September 21. They were later joined by leaders from Australia and Japan for the QUAD Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware.