Changing India-US ties very defining development this century: S Jaishankar

The changing India-US relationship has been a very defining development in this century, said External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday during bilateral talks with US State Secretary Antony Blinken on the sidelines of Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

"Quad, we have progressed a lot and much of that is due to the fact that we've all devoted a lot of time, energy, attention to that. We have made it into concrete actionable propositions our teams have worked on...A big part of that is because we've strong bilateral relationships," Jaishankar said on the sidelines of Quad Foreign Ministers' in Melbourne, Australia.

"Certainly, for us, in this century the changing India-US relationship has really been a very defining development. So, I welcome the chance today to sit with you and look at our relationship and see how we can continue to take it forward in its positive trajectory, " he added.

In an earlier meeting with the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Blinken had said Quad member nations are brought together not by what "we are against but what we are for."

"What's so striking to me as we get together is, that this is a group of countries brought together not by what we are against but what we are for. That quite simply is a free and open Indo-Pacific," he added.

Australia is hosting India, Japan and the United States for the fourth Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Melbourne on Friday and the top diplomats are seeking to bolster cooperation in areas including economy, security, coronavirus pandemic and free and open Indo-Pacific.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is a partnership of four nations, each of whom shares a commitment to openness, transparency and challenges coming out of the current global order.

This is the first time Quad Foreign Ministers are meeting since the two Quad Summits last year. They will be discussing ongoing Quad cooperation in their bilateral phone calls and meetings.