India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, has stated that Bangladesh was discussed during his meetings with officials of the new U.S. administration. However, he did not provide further details on the discussions. Jaishankar made this comment during a press conference held at the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
The video of the press conference was shared by the Indian External Affairs Minister on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account and was also published on the Ministry of External Affairs’ website. In the video, Jaishankar is seen answering various questions from journalists about India-U.S. relations and other topics.
According to a report from India’s state-run news agency PTI, Jaishankar, who traveled to the U.S. to attend the inauguration of President Donald Trump, met with the new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Washington, D.C. He also participated in a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers, a coalition comprising the U.S., India, Australia, and Japan.
At the very end of the press conference at the Indian Embassy, a journalist asked Jaishankar whether the treatment of minorities in Bangladesh was discussed during his meetings with U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In response, Jaishankar said, “Yes, we had a brief discussion about Bangladesh. I don’t think it would be appropriate to go into details about it.”
When asked about the future of India-U.S. relations, Jaishankar noted that the Trump administration has shown a clear interest in advancing relations between the two countries. He stated, “It is very clear that the new administration wanted India’s presence at Trump’s inauguration. They are prioritizing bilateral relations.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of State issued a press release regarding Jaishankar’s meeting with Marco Rubio. The statement, issued by the State Department’s new spokesperson Tammy Bruce, confirmed the shared commitment of both nations to strengthening their partnership.
The press release also noted that Jaishankar and Rubio discussed a wide range of topics, including regional issues, opportunities to deepen U.S.-India relations, emerging technologies, defense cooperation, energy, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Additionally, the statement highlighted the Trump administration’s desire to work with India on advancing economic ties and expressed concerns about “irregular migration.”