NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be the first foreign minister to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a bilateral discussion, as India aims to strengthen its ties with the U.S. following the inauguration of President Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.On his first day in office, Trump signed a series of executive orders that are expected to reshape the international order, sending messages to capitals across the world.Rubio will be meeting Jaishakar in the state department soon after his meeting with foreign ministers of India, Japan and Australia under the QUAD format in the same venue.External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, who represented India at the inauguration, was seated in the front row alongside Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. He also had brief interactions with members of Trump’s administration, including the 56th Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and FBI Director nominee Kash Patel. Dr Jaishankar was also seen exchanging a handshake with Vivek Ramaswamy, a key member of Team Trump who intends to run for the governor of Ohio.According to sources, the importance of the Quad format is quite pronounced the way the first day’s appointment of Rubio is planned. Soon after interacting with the staffers at the state department which is expected to last one hour 45 minutes following which the QUAD foreign ministers will meet for an hour.President Donald Trump is expected to visit India to attend the first QUAD summit later this year. India is also making plans in earnest to host the first meeting of Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, a new initiative of the grouping will take place in Mumbai in the coming months.
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