Talks between the two also covered the situation in the Indo-Pacific

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India ministerial meeting on Thursday.

The two discussed what EAM Jaishankar described as the "ever strengthening India-US relationship". Talks also covered the situation in the Indo-Pacific, with Secretary of State Blinken highlighting ASEAN's significance in the region.

S Jaishankar posted on Twitter, "A warm conversation to start meetings on the sidelines of ASEAN Ministerial in Phnom Penh." Discussed the ever strengthening India-US relationship and the global situation with US Secretary of State @SecBlinken."

During the meeting, Blinken raised worries about "challenges" in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and the situation in the Indo-Pacific in his opening remarks.

According to the US State Department, Blinken maintained that the US and India are ardent supporters of ASEAN's significance in the Indo-Pacific.

He said, "We are both strong proponents of ASEAN centrality. We have a shared vision together for a free and open Indo-Pacific that we work on in so many different ways every single day."

He added, "And of course, we have some immediate challenges that we’re both concerned with, to include the situation in Sri Lanka, Burma, and a number of other hot spots. So I very much look forward to once again being able to go through a number of these issues with my friend, and then we’ll both head over to our meetings."

US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price stated that Jaishankar and Blinken conveyed their perspectives on global and regional problems, particularly Russia's actions against Ukraine and the ramifications it has had on food poverty around the world.