The US has pledged $100 million in aid to India to fight the devastating surge in Covid-19 cases and has already sent four planeloads of oxygen cylinders and concentrators and vital medicines like Remdesivir. Mr Jaishankar was in London as a guest at the meeting of the G7 Foreign Ministers. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken “reaffirmed India’s important role when it comes to the climate crisis and as a leading partner in the Indo-Pacific”.

“They also discussed ways to deepen cooperation in multilateral fora, including at the UN Security Council and as a G7 guest country.” Mr Jaishankar tweeted: “Our meeting also covered issues of Indo-Pacific, UN Security Council, Myanmar and climate change.”

With the US Air Force handling the transportation of American aid to India, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has assured India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh “that we’ll continue to do whatever we can to help”.