The meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar marks a pivotal moment in US-India relations, focusing on deepening economic ties and addressing regional security challenges.

EAM S Jaishankar arrived in Washington at the invitation of the US Government to witness Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th President of the United States. His meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, representing the world's largest and oldest democracies, was held at the State Department's Foggy Bottom headquarters.

Rubio called China the "most potent, dangerous adversary" during his confirmation and is expected to work with India, Japan, and Australia to counter this.

After the Quad ministerial, Rubio had his first bilateral with Jaishankar, which lasted for more than an hour. India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, was also present in the meeting. Jaishankar also met National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Tuesday.

On his first full day as secretary of state, Marco Rubio is meeting with his counterparts from a group of countries known as the Quad: the United States plus India, Japan and Australia, representing nearly 2 billion people and more than a third of global GDP.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold his first bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington later Tuesday.

Last year, as a Senator, Rubio Marco introduced a bill to treat India like allies such as Japan, Israel, Korea, and NATO for technology transfers and support against growing territorial threats.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio initiates Trump's foreign policy engagements with Australia, India, and Japan in the Quad ministerial meeting.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio from Florida became the first of President Donald Trump's cabinet nominees to be sworn into office on Tuesday, where he emphasized that U.S. foreign policy under Trump will put American needs first.

The Quad meeting was also attended by foreign ministers, Penny Wong from Australia and Takeshi Iwaya from Japan