India, US On Same Page On Illegal Migration, Trump Keen To Take Quad Further: Jaishankar

Jaishankar, while addressing a press conference in Washington DC, also said the Trump administration is keen to take Quad further and intensify its activities.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Source : X/Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said the Trump administration is keen to have India present at the inaugural ceremony and added that the newly elected government was “clearly prioritising the bilateral relationship" between the two nations.

Jaishankar, while addressing a press conference in Washington DC, said that both India and the United States are on the same page when it comes to illegal migration, and added that the two nations need to prioritize mobility of people which is mutually beneficial. 

"I told him (Rubio) that while we accept this (illegal immigration issue) and agree that these are autonomous processes, it's in our mutual interest to facilitate legal and mutually beneficial mobility. If it takes 400-odd days waiting period to get a visa, I don't think the relationship is well served by this," Jaishankar said, while adding that Secy Rubio noted the point.

Jaishankar also said the Trump administration is keen to take Quad further and intensify its activities. On Tuesday, Newly-appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio held his first bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart, where he underlined the importance the Trump administration attaches to strengthening ties with India. 

"If I were to share my overall impressions, I would say one, it was very keen. It was very clear that the Trump administration was keen to have India present at the inaugural itself. They're clearly prioritising the bilateral relationship," Jaishankar said.

"It was also evident that they would like to build on the foundation of the relationship, a foundation which the first Trump administration also contributed a lot to building. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi at that time took a number of initiatives, and we have seen that mature in many ways," he added.

Jaishankar represented Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his Special Envoy at the inaugural function of President Donald Trump in Washington DC. 

Jaishankar, who attended the swearing-in of the 47th president, also carried a letter from PM Modi for the US President. 

The External Affairs Minister said that India and the US have a strong degree of trust and a high level of convergence of interests.

"A sense that while we serve our national interest, while we build our bilateral partnership, definitely on regional issues and global issues, there is a lot of good that we can do. So that sense of global good was also very evident conceptually in what we discussed," he said.

Jaishankar also said that he shared concerns about the delay in visa processes with US secretary of state Marco Rubio during his meeting with him earlier in the day. Marco Rubio was appointed the US secretary of state by US President Donald Trump as he made a second return to the White House.

"I flagged some concerns which are very widespread in India about delays in visas and the relationship is not well served if it takes that many days to get a visa. They affect business, tourism and constrain people-to-people relationship, which is the foundation of our relationship," the union minister said.

Speaking on trade with Pakistan, Jaishankar said, "We did not stop trading. Their administration made the decision in 2019 to not continue trading with us. Our concern about this issue was from the beginning that we should get MFN status (Most Favored Nation). We used to give this status to Pakistan but they did not give it to us. So, neither such talks have taken place with Pakistan regarding trade from our side, nor did they take any initiative from their side."

The minister also voiced concerns over the recent attack on the US consulate in San Francisco calling it a "very serious matter" and for "which India expects accountability." "We would like to see that people who did it are held responsible," he added.