Changing India-US relationship is very defining development in this century, says EAM S Jaishankar

New Delhi, Feb 11: The changing India-US relationship has been a very defining development in this century, said External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar today in Australia during bilateral talks with US State Secretary Antony Blinken on the sidelines of Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison today.

The Ministers are in Melbourne to participate in the 4th Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

Dr. Jaishankar said through Quad, the member nations 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. A big part of that is because we've strong bilateral relationships, 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.

Australia is hosting India, Japan and the United States for the fourth Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Melbourne today and high-profile 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.