Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar to visit US from Dec 24-29 to discuss key ‘global issues’

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will visit the United States from 24 to 29 December, marking the first high-level official visit to the US following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential elections.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that the minister will engage in discussions with his counterparts on significant bilateral, regional, and global issues.

“He will be meeting counterparts to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues. During the visit, EAM will also chair a conference of the Consul Generals of India in the USA,” the MEA stated in an official release.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier congratulated President-elect Trump on his “historic election victory.” In their first communication after the election results, Trump said that “India is a magnificent country and PM Modi is a magnificent man.”

Following their conversation, Modi posted on X, “Had a great conversation with my friend, President @realDonaldTrump, congratulating him on his spectacular victory. Looking forward to working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors.”

In another post, Modi wrote, “Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US comprehensive global and strategic partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.”

The visit comes amid allegations of bribery and fraud brought up by US authorities against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. Addressing the issue, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time, “We are aware of these allegations, and I would have to refer you to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and DOJ (Department of Justice) about the specifics of those allegations against the Adani Group.”

Commenting on India-US relations, she added, “What I will say is, on the US and India relationship, we believe that it stands on an extremely strong foundation, anchored in ties between our people and cooperation across a full range of global issues. And so what we believe, and we’re confident about, is that we’ll continue to navigate this issue, as we have with other issues that may have come up.”

(With inputs from agencies)