Day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President, Quad meet likely with India at table

Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the four ministers are expected to be at the inauguration.

Japanese Foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya; Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong; and Jaishankar will have the opportunity to meet US Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the inauguration.

Rubio is known to be a China hawk, and in July last year, he had introduced a Bill proposing that India be treated similarly to allies like Japan, Israel, South Korea and NATO partners in terms of technology transfers.

Officials and visitors at the Rotunda, where President-elect Donald Trump is due to take the oath of office on Monday. (Photo: AP)

Significantly, in the recently released regulatory framework on the export of AI software by the Biden administration, India doesn’t figure in the first category of 18 US allies which have no restrictions. India is in Tier 2 with the vast majority which will face a limit on how much computing power they can import from US firms if they can host it in trusted environments.

Rubio’s Bill had aimed to support India in addressing threats to its territorial integrity and seeks to block security assistance to Pakistan if it is found to sponsor terrorism against India.

Rubio had said China continues to aggressively expand its domain in the Indo-Pacific region and seeks to impede the sovereignty and autonomy of US regional partners.

His Bill had said the US-India partnership is vital to countering influences from Communist China. It also advocates enhancing strategic, diplomatic, economic and military ties with New Delhi.

In September 2014, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington DC, Rubio had written an op-ed and had faulted the Barack Obama administration for neglecting Indo-US ties.

Indian officials and outgoing Joe Biden administration officials have been in touch with the Trump team, including Marco Rubio’s, about continuing the initiatives between India and US. This includes the Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).

During his first term, Trump became the first US President to name China as a strategic threat and rival. He also revived the Quad grouping in 2017. This was continued and elevated by President Joe Biden.

Jaishankar is also expected to meet Vice President J D Vance and his wife of Indian-origin Usha Vance during the trip, apart from NSA-designate Mike Waltz. He had met Waltz during his trip to the US in the last week of December.