TERRORISM emanating from its neighbour is one of India’s primary concerns, and if this is not fully appreciated by New Delhi’s partners, it impacts bilateral ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, alluding to India-US relations amid upswing in Washington-Islamabad ties. The External Affairs Minister has addressed prominent members of the IndianAmerican and diaspora community as well as policy experts at a special conversation hosted at Asia Society, as the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly wrapped up on Monday. During a conversation moderated by former American diplomat and distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute Daniel Russel, Jaishankar was asked about US-India relations, particularly amid developments related to trade and tariffs over the past year, and what would have to happen to put the bilateral relationship on a “better track”. “Well, I think if I stand back and look at the relationship,... I note that much of the world has had a more difficult relationship with the US. I mean that may not be a consolation, but that’s a reality,” Jaishankar said.

 

He then alluded to ties between the US and Pakistan, which have seen an upswing over the past year, especially just months after the second term of the Donald Trump administration commenced in January 2025. One of the issues “pertains to the sensitivities of each country,” Jaishankar said. “What for us in India is particularly important is the issue of terrorism. “That we feel that...As a country perhaps there are very few countries which have been subjected to the kind of terrorism that we have from a neighbour as part of a deliberate, conscious policy over many, many decades,” Jaishankar said, making a reference to Pakistan. TRADE AGREEMENT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ‘BETTER’ INDIA-US TIES, SAYS JAISHANKAR:A TRADE agreement between India and the US, if concluded, would contribute to “better” bilateral ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, noting that expectations of rapid progress in negotiations had been “tested” against a much more complex ground reality