As part of a continuing effort to strengthen India-US ties, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York on Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session.
According to officials, the discussion in the meeting between Mr Jaishankar and Mr Rubio will serve as a continuation of efforts to strengthen bilateral ties and bridge the differences that have emerged between the two nations in recent months.
The meeting holds significance as it will be the first face-to-face interaction between Mr Jaishankar and Mr Rubio since relations between New Delhi and Washington came under strain over the 50 per cent tariff imposed by the US on Indian imports for purchasing Russian oil. The new US tariff came into effect on August 27.
The meeting also coincides with a visit by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is leading a delegation to hold trade negotiations with Washington.
There are also confusion and concern among Indians in the US on H-1B visas after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing USD 100,000 fee on visas for skilled tech workers. The White House later clarified that the fee only applies to new applicants and not to current visa holders.
Jaishankar’s meeting with his American counterpart is expected to be crucial, particularly in the backdrop of the Trump administration’s latest decision to hike the H-1B visa fee.
The proclamation signed by US President Donald Trump has raised the application fee for H-1B visas to $100,000, triggering chaos across the tech industry and creating uncertainty among employees who rely on the visa programme.
Today’s interaction marks the third in-person meeting between Mr Jaishankar and Mr Rubio this year. Their last interaction took place on July 1 during the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Washington. Prior to that, Jaishankar had met him in January, days after the latter assumed office, also on the sidelines of a Quad meeting in Washington.