S Jaishankar and Antony Blinken didn’t take any questions from the media (AFP)

Washington:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington and mentioned methods to additional the bilateral ties, amid the diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.

#WATCH | Washington, DC: EAM Dr S Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. pic.twitter.com/HC7LCUkRSD

— ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2023

“Good to be back here. And we, of course, had the prime minister here this summer. Thanks to the US for all the support to the G20 Summit,” S Jaishankar mentioned whereas showing earlier than the media together with Blinken forward of the assembly held on the State Department.

Blinken mentioned he had “very good discussions” over the previous few weeks together with on the G20 and on the margins of the UN General Assembly session in New York. He mentioned he was trying ahead to his discussions with the Indian counterpart.

The two leaders didn’t take any questions from the media.

Although officers from either side are tightlipped in regards to the agenda of the assembly, the most recent diplomatic disaster between two of America’s mates is predicted to come back up prominently throughout the talks.

“I don’t want to preview the conversations he (Antony Blinken) will have in that meeting (with S Jaishankar), but as we’ve made clear, we’ve raised this. We have engaged with our Indian counterparts on this and encouraged them to cooperate with the Canadian investigation, and we continue to encourage them to cooperate,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller advised earlier reporters whereas responding to questions on Wednesday.

While the assembly between the 2 high diplomats was scheduled a lot earlier than the Canadian disaster broke out, the US has been urging India to cooperate within the Canadian investigation into the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia early this yr.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has alleged that the Indian authorities was behind the killing of Hardeep Nijjar on June 18. India, which designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020, has rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

S Jaishankar, who arrived in Washington from New York on Wednesday after addressing the 78th General Assembly session of the United Nations on Tuesday, earlier within the day met US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and mentioned the progress in bilateral relations between the 2 nations and methods to take it ahead. He additionally met US Trade Representative Katherine Tie.

“Began my Washington DC visit with a meeting with NSA @JakeSullivan46. Recognised the tremendous progress in our bilateral relationship this year and discussed taking it forward,” S Jaishankar mentioned in a put up on X.

He additionally met US Trade Representative Katherine Tie and mentioned the rising financial ties between Washington and New Delhi.

“Good to see with US Trade Representative @AmbassadorTai. Spoke about our expanding trade and economic relationship and its broader significance,” the minister mentioned in a put up on X.

During his keep in Washington, the exterior affairs minister is predicted to have a sequence of conferences with senior officers of the Biden administration, evaluation the progress made between the 2 nations after the historic State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June and discuss different regional and world points.

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