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Dr Jaishankar is expected to discuss the dates for the fifth Quad leaders' summit in India later this year.
A day after Donald Trump took charge as the 47th president of the United States, his Secretary of State pick Marco Rubio may sit down with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and their ministerial counterparts from Japan and Australia on Tuesday.
The EAM is expected to discuss the dates for the fifth Quad leaders' summit in India later this year, sources said.
While an official confirmation is awaited from all sides, an informal meeting of the four Quad foreign ministers has been signalled by both the US and India.
On Monday, Jaishankar held meetings with his counterparts from Australia and Japan.
Revived by a Trump-led US in 2017, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) grouping is more strategically aligned than ever before and is delivering enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific, a joint declaration by the nations had claimed after the leaders' summit in Delaware in the US in September last year.
As a result, experts believe President Trump will keep his focus on Quad in his second stint.
"We have to remember our recent history. Quad got the first fillip under President Trump when the first meeting of the foreign ministers of Quad nations took place. Once the new administration settles down, they will start work on strengthening the partnership," Rajiv Bhatia, a former ambassador and distinguished fellow at Gateway House pointed out.
In his second term, Trump would likely maintain his preference for more transactional and bilateral engagements, as seen during his first term, experts believe.
While he did support the Quad as a strategic counter to China's growing influence, Trump's broader foreign policy was often focused on 'America First', with less emphasis on institutionalised multilateral cooperation.
Ensuring the Quad grouping continues its technology partnerships to build resilient and secure supply chains under Trump, especially for semiconductors, telecommunications, and other critical technologies, remains a primary focus for India.
New areas of cooperation opened up under President Joe Biden -- such as the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) framework -- will remain a key facet of bilateral relations, Bhatia said.
Trump may seek to give his own touch to the framework, which has been a brainchild of the Biden administration.
In 2022, Biden launched the 14-nation Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) bloc that aims to keep supply chains free of disruptions and frame trade rules, including for data localisation, e-commerce, and labour standards.
Experts remain divided over whether Trump, known for his isolationist rhetoric, would continue to support the initiative.
In the realm of defence, the Quad has expanded the security partnership among the nations through military and naval exercises, high profile visits, and consolidation of operation in the Indo-Pacific region.
An initiative bringing together the coast guards of member nations for joint operations is expected to go live this year.
A new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), to enable maximisation of monitoring the waters, is also set to begin. India will host the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
