India, Jan. 29 -- External affairs minister S Jaishankar met US ambassador Sergio Gor, a close aide of President Donald Trump, on Thursday ahead of a planned visit to Washington next month to attend the US-led inaugural ministerial meeting on critical mineral supply chains.

Jaishankar's visit to the US on February 4-5, which is yet to be formally announced by both sides, is being perceived as an opportunity to address strains in bilateral relations over the trade and tariff policies of the Trump administration, especially as he is expected to have a bilateral meeting with secretary of state Marco Rubio, people familiar with the matter said.

"Pleased to meet @USAmbIndia Sergio Gor today in New Delhi. Our conversation covered the many dim...