Jaishankar and Rubio ‘welcome’ India-US trade deal, discuss critical minerals and energy security | World News

3 min readFeb 4, 2026 09:04 AM External Affairs Miner S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC, on Tuesday (February 3), where the two discussed “formalising” bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration, mining, and processing. Jaishankar and Rubio also “commended” the trade deal between Indian and the US.
“Delighted to meet US @SecRubio this afternoon. A wide-ranging conversation that covered our bilateral cooperation agenda, regional and global issues,” Jaishankar wrote in a post on X after the meeting.
“Facets of India-US Strategic Partnership discussed included trade, energy, nuclear, defence, critical minerals and technology. Agreed on the early meetings of various mechanisms to advance our shared interests,” he said.

Delighted to meet US @SecRubio this afternoon.
A wide ranging conversation that covered our bilateral cooperation agenda, regional and global issues.
Facets of India – US Strategic Partnership discussed included trade, energy, nuclear, defence, critical minerals and… pic.twitter.com/1rbXJHgEQY
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 3, 2026
Rubio, in a post on X, said that he and Jaishankar held discussions on bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration and also discussed working together to unlock new economic opportunities between the countries.
“Met with Indian External Affairs Miner Dr S Jaishankar to discuss our bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration and work together to unlock new economic opportunities between our two countries. We also commended the trade deal between the United States and India,” the US Secretary of State said in a post on his official X account.

Met with Indian External Affairs Miner @DrSJaishankar to discuss our bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration and work together to unlock new economic opportunities between our two countries. We also commended the trade deal between the United States and India. pic.twitter.com/Wji6P3v5ZE
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) February 3, 2026
A readout of the bilateral meeting State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that Rubio and Jaishankar “welcomed the trade deal reached between President Trump and Prime Miner Modi. The two leaders emphasised the importance of our democracies working together to unlock new economic opportunities and advance our shared energy security goals.”
Pigott further said that Rubio and Jaishankar “concluded their meeting expressing their commitment to expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation through the Quad. They acknowledged that a prosperous Indo-Pacific region remains vital to advancing our shared interests.”
The meeting between Rubio and Jaishankar comes after PM Modi and Trump agreed to a trade deal under which the US will bring down its reciprocal tariff on India to 18 per cent from 25 per cent.
Jaishankar is on a visit to the United States from Feb 2- 4, where he is scheduled to take part in the Critical Minerals Minerial being convened Rubio.