03-07-2025
Jaishankar meets national intelligence director, FBI director to wrap up US visit
Washington: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar closed out his three-day visit to the United States after meeting with director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI director Kash Patel. Jaishankar also met with US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard and the two discussed the 'global situation and our bilateral cooperation. (@DrSJaishankar)
'Appreciate our strong cooperation in countering organised crime, drug trafficking and terrorism,' said Jaishankar on X after meeting with Patel.
The Indian-origin FBI chief recently spoke publicly about the US-India cooperation in stemming the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China into the United States. The influx of fentanyl and related chemicals has contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis in America, which claimed the lives of over 80,000 people in 2024.
'I literally just got off the phone with the Indian government. I said, I need your help. This stuff's coming into your country and then they're moving it from your country because India is not consuming fentanyl. We're going to find these companies that buy it and we're going to shut them down,' Patel said on a podcast recently, adding that New Delhi and Washington would look to indict companies involved in drug trafficking.
In its 2025 Annual Threat Assessment Report, the office of the director of national intelligence stated that India was second only to China as a source of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill-pressing equipment.
Jaishankar also met with US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard. The two discussed the 'global situation and our bilateral cooperation,' said Jaishankar on X.
Gabbard was the first senior official from the second Trump administration to visit India. During the visit, she met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Rajnath Singh, and attended a high-level intelligence conference in New Delhi.
According to the office of the director of national intelligence, her meetings in India focused on defence, counter-terrorism, transnational threats, and intelligence sharing.
