New Delhi, Feb. 3 -- External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday began a visit to the US to attend a critical minerals ministerial meeting organised by Washington, with the trip being closely followed for signs of a breakthrough in reducing strains in bilateral relations over the tariff policies of the Trump administration. In addition to participating in the ministerial meeting on critical minerals convened by secretary of state Marco Rubio on February 4, Jaishankar will hold meetings with senior members of the US administration during the three-day trip, the external affairs ministry said. The ministerial meeting will focus on supply chain resilience, clean energy transitions and strategic cooperation in critical minerals, the ministry said. People familiar with the matter said that India is also expected to join Pax Silica, the flagship US initiative to build a secure global supply chain for semiconductors and AI technology. Representatives of the G7 member states, including the UK, Japan, Germany and Italy, and mineral-rich nations such as Congo, Guinea and Kenya will participate in the meeting to enhance multilateral cooperation and investments in alternative supply chains for rare earth minerals....