EAM Jaishankar holds talks with US NSA Sullivan, reviews India-US ties

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday held talks with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, broadly reviewing the trajectory of India-US global strategic partnership in the last four years under the Biden administration.

Sullivan is on a visit to India two weeks ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th president of the US.

In a post on X, Jaishankar complimented Sullivan for his "personal contribution" to forging a "closer and stronger" India-US partnership.

One of the most significant measures initiated to expand the bilateral ties was the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology or iCET.

The iCET was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in May 2022 with an aim to forge greater collaboration between India and the US in areas of critical technologies such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotech, and defence innovation.

"Delighted to meet US NSA @JakeSullivan46 in New Delhi today morning," Jaishankar said.

"Continued our ongoing discussions on deepening bilateral, regional and global cooperation. Valued the openness of our conversations in the last four years. Appreciated his personal contribution to forging a closer and stronger India-US partnership," he added.

Sullivan will also hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval to review the progress in cooperation under the iCET as well as the bilateral defence engagement.

Last year, the two sides unveiled a raft of transformative initiatives to deepen the India-US cooperation in areas of semiconductors, critical minerals, advanced telecommunication and defence space.

Sullivan's trip comes days after Jaishankar concluded a six-day visit to the US.

Ahead of his trip, a Biden administration spokesperson said Sullivan's talks with Doval will cover a range of issues across the "breadth of the US-India partnership -- from space, defence, and strategic technology cooperation to shared security priorities in the Indo-Pacific and beyond".

The India-US defence cooperation also witnessed a major upswing in the last four years.

In October, India inked a mega deal with the US to procure 31 Predator long-endurance drones from American defence major General Atomics under the foreign military sales route at a cost of nearly USD 4 billion.

India is procuring the drones to boost its military's combat prowess along the contested borders with China.

While the Navy will get 15 Sea Guardian drones, the Indian Air Force and the Army will each get eight Sky Guardian drones.

The high-altitude long-endurance drones are capable of remaining airborne for over 35 hours and can carry four Hellfire missiles and around 450 kg of bombs. PTI