Blinken, Jaishankar Discuss India-US Cooperation in Washington, but don’t bring up the rift with Canada

On Thursday (local time), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar met and decided to keep collaborating on defense, space, and renewable energy projects. The diplomatic dispute between India and Canada over the death of a terrorist-separatist from Khalistan was not mentioned.

Following his discussion with Blinken, the foreign affairs minister also declared that New Delhi would host the fifth iteration of the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

news sourceThe meeting will take place in the first part of November, according to PTI’s report. The US team will be headed by Blinken and defense secretary Lloyd Austin, while the Indian mission will be led by Rajnath Singh, the Indian defense minister, and Jaishankar.

When they gathered at the State Department’s Foggy Bottom headquarters for the meeting, Jaishankar informed Blinken, “I actually look forward to seeing you in Delhi for the 2+2.”

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Foreign Minister Jaishankar back to Washington and to the State Department. Blinken welcomed Jaishankar and added, “We’ve had really productive conversations over the previous several weeks – of course in the G20, in New York at the General Assembly – and I’m looking forward to pursuing them this afternoon.

The foreign affairs minister is now visiting Washington, DC, on a five-day business trip. After the recent G20 Summit in New Delhi, this is their first encounter.

The US Secretary of State, @SecBlinken, was a pleasure to meet today at the State Department. An extensive debate that follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in June. also traded notes about world events. Immediately laid the foundation for our 2+2 discussion,” Jaishankar wrote on his blog after his encounter.

Both diplomats talked about a wide variety of topics, according to State Department spokeswoman Matthew Miller. This includes the development of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and other significant results of India’s G20 chairmanship.

Prior to the next 2+2 Dialogue, “the Secretary and the External Affairs Minister also stressed the continued importance of cooperation, in particular in the areas of defense, space, and clean energy,” Miller stated.

Jaishankar also spoke with Katherine Tai, a US trade representative, and Jake Sullivan, a US national security advisor.

NONE IS MADE OF CANADA

During their discussion, the current diplomatic controversy between India and Canada over the murder of Sikh separatist-terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, Canada, early this year, was not brought up.

The murder of Nijjar on June 18 was allegedly ordered by the Indian government, according to Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada. In 2020, India deemed Nijjar to be a terrorist. The claims made by Canada have been deemed “absurd” and “motivated” by India.

When speaking to reporters, Blinken declined to answer inquiries about the diplomatic crisis and Nijjar’s murder.