S Jaishankar and US Secretary Marco Rubio discuss trade, defense, nuclear cooperation, energy, and vital minerals; agree to stay in contact.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke over the phone on Tuesday, concentrating on collaboration in the fields of defense, nuclear energy, vital minerals, and trade.

The Jaishankar-Rubio phone conversation took place one day after Sergio Gor, the recently appointed US ambassador, stated that there will be some communication between the two parties over the trade issue.

The minister of external affairs stated that he had a “good conversation” with Rubio and that they decided to stay in contact. “Just concluded a good conversation with @SecRubio.” talked about energy, defense, nuclear cooperation, trade, and vital minerals,” he posted on social media.

“Agreed to remain in touch on these and other issues,” he stated.

After President Donald Trump imposed a staggering 50% tax on Indian imports, including a 25% punitive levy on Russian oil sales, India-US relations saw a significant decline.

To finalize a bilateral trade agreement, both parties engaged in several rounds of negotiations last year. However, Washington’s demands to open up India’s dairy and agricultural industries prevented it from being inked just yet.

Also read: Trump’s Iran Tariff Likely to Spare India Due to Minimal Bilateral Trade

“Both sides continue to actively engage,” Gor stated during a speech at the US embassy on Monday regarding the potential trade agreement between the US and India. The next trading call will actually take place tomorrow,” he stated.

“No partner is more essential than India,” Gor said in his remarks, adding that no nation is more vital to the US than India. As ambassador, I intend to pursue a very ambitious agenda in the coming months and years. We will approach this as genuine strategic partners, each contributing leadership, power, and respect,” he declared.

Additionally, the phone call between Jaishankar and Rubio coincided with Trump’s announcement that nations doing business with Iran will be subject to a 25% penalty.

Since the amount of trade between India and Iran is now less than USD 2 billion, the new levy is anticipated to have “minimal impact” on India, according to Indian government sources.

According to the reports, Iran is not even among India’s top 50 international trading partners.

According to them, India’s commerce with Iran was worth USD 1.6 billion last year, or roughly 0.15 percent of its entire trade.