'Very Clear That Trump...': Jaishankar’s 3 Impressions From Inauguration Ceremony, Bilateral With Secretary of State

Washington: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who attended Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony on January 20 in Washington DC and held his first bilateral meeting with newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has said it's very clear that the Trump administration was keen to have India present at the inauguration itself and is clearly prioritising its bilateral relations with New Delhi.

Addressing a presser, Jaishankar listed out three impressions after attending Trump's oath taking and said, “...If I were to share my overall impressions, I would say one, it was very keen. It was very clear that the Trump administration was keen to have India present at the inaugural itself. They're clearly prioritising the bilateral relationship.”

“Secondly, in the meetings, it was also evident that they would like to build on the foundation of the relationship, a foundation which the first Trump administration also contributed a lot to building. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi at that time took a number of initiatives, and we have seen that mature in many ways,” EAM said.

"And the third impression was, with regard to the Quad, a very strong sense that the current administration would reciprocate our desire as well to take the Quad further, to intensify its activities...," Jaishankar added.