One of the issues that Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised with EAM S Jaishankar was irregular migrationunderscoring the Trump administration’s position on the issue. Jaishankar said India’s position on legal mobility and illegal migration has been consistent with that of all countries and “the United States is no exception.”
“We have always considered that if any of our citizens are not here legally and if we are sure that they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return. Therefore, it is not an exclusive position of the United States. “We have been consistent, we have been very principled on this and that remains our position, and I conveyed that very clearly to Secretary Rubio,” Jaishankar said in a press meeting. He warned against citing numbers, saying India first has to validate that the people in question are of Indian origin.
During the meeting with Rubio, Jaishankar raised the issue of delay in visas for Indian citizens. He said the delay limited contacts between people who act as the very basis of the relationship. Jaishankar also said he discussed the Bangladesh situation with Rubio, but did not provide details.