NOTING that the Trump administration was keen to have India present at the inaugural itself and is prioritising the bilateral relationship, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that the ties are being built further on the strong foundation that has been laid. Interacting with the media here, Jaishankar said the Trump administration is keen to take Quad further and intensify its activities. “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,” Jaishankar said.

 

“President Trump and Prime Minister Modi at that time took a number of initiatives, and we have seen that mature in many ways. 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,” he added. Jaishankar represented Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his special envoy at the inaugural function of President Donald Trump in Washington DC. He carried a letter from the Prime Minister for President Trump. Donald Trump took the oath as the 47th US President on January 20. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Jaishankar in Washington DC, reaffirming the shared commitment to strengthening the US-India partnership. Secretary Rubio and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar affirmed a shared commitment to continuing to strengthen the partnership between the United States and India. They discussed a wide range of topics, including regional issues and opportunities to further deepen the US-India relationship. Secretary