India External Affairs Minister (circled) can be seen seated in the front row during US President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025. | X (@DrSJaishankar)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who represented India at US President’s Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday (January 20), was given a seat in the very first row during the ceremony in US Capitol’s Rotunda where the event was held. The seating arrangement during Trump’s swearing-in and Jaishankar’s presence in the very first row is widely seen to be symbolic of USA’s intentions to forge deeper ties with India as second term of Trump presidency starts.
Jaishankar was seated beside Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong were sitting two rows behind Jaishankar. India, Japan and Australia are part of Quad grouping alongwith US.
Following Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, Jaishankar took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to put into words what he felt.
India and the USA were in opposite camps during the Cold War with India perceived more aligned with the erstwhile Soviet Union. The thaw in often frosty Indo-US relations came in 2008 when India, under then-PM Manmohan Singh, signed civil nuclear deal with the US.
Both countries have increasingly come closer after that. Although India maintains excellent ties with Russia even today, the previous perception of India being a pariah state is no longer there in the Western bloc.
Press Trust of India reported citing sources that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar carried a letter from PM Modi to President Trump.
On his very first day of his second presidential term, President Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, some of them very significant. He revoked 78 of former US president Joe Biden’s policies, took the US out of the Paris Climate accord and even from World Health Organisation (WHO)
He pardoned those involved in US Capitol Hill riots (2021). Trump said that the pardon would apply to more than 1500 people.
Trump also signed executive order delaying enforcement of ban on TikTok by 75 days.
