NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the crisis in West Asia during their bilateral meeting in New York on Tuesday.”We followed up on the Delaware bilateral and Quad meetings. Our discussions also covered deepening bilateral cooperation, situation in West Asia, the recent developments in the Indian subcontinent, the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine,” said Dr Jaishankar.Secretary Blinken spoke about the regional and global challenges and also discussed cooperation in climate change and ways to promote regional security and prosperity.”It’s very good to have my friend and colleague, Foreign Secretary Jaishankar, here with us today. A few hours ago, Iran – for the second time in a space of five months – launched a direct attack on Israel, including some 200 ballistic missiles. This is totally unacceptable, and the entire world should condemn it,” said Secretary Blinken at the onset of his meeting with Dr Jaishankar.Blinken also said that Israel, with the active support of the United States and other partners, effectively defeated this attack. Meanwhile, Blinken spoke about the vibrancy, strength behind the partnership that joins the United States and India. “We had Prime Minister Modi here and actually in Wilmington, Delaware for the Quad meeting as well as a bilateral meeting with President Biden. The warmth of that meeting, the ambition in the relationship, is at a level we’ve never seen before,” said Blinken.India and US are partnering in different areas, including strategic technology sectors, including space, including semiconductors, including clean energy.”India plays a critical role on the global stage, working for peace, working for stability, working for security – here as well we’re doing more and more together,” Blinken said.”I think on the bilateral side there’s a lot that we’ve done since our last meeting, but there are global issues to discuss, including some of the events you mentioned today,” said Jaishankar.Meanwhile, the US State department said that the US had taken note of PM Modi’s visit to Kyiv and reiterated the importance of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. The duo also discussed plans to expand collaboration on clean energy initiatives to address global climate crisis.
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