As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares for his first official visit to India, an unexpected Venezuela angle has suddenly entered the conversation - highlighting Washington’s growing focus on energy diplomacy with New Delhi and its expanding influence in Caracas.
Ahead of departing for Sweden and India,Rubiosaid the United States wants to deepen energy cooperation with India and is ready to become a larger part of the country’s oil and gas basket. In the same remarks, he unusually disclosed that Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez is expected to travel to New Delhi next week - a statement neither Caracas nor New Delhi had officially announced at the time.
Also Read:Why Marco Rubio's India Visit Will Begin In Kolkata, Not Delhi - Explained
Rubio, who arrives in India on Saturday for a four-day visit covering Kolkata, New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, linked the Venezuela reference directly to energy discussions with India.
“Well, we want to sell them as much energy as they'll buy. And obviously, you've seen I think we're at historic levels of US production, and US export,” Rubio said before leaving for Sweden. “We were already in talks with them to do more, we want to be a bigger part of their portfolio.”
“We also think that there are opportunities with Venezuelan oil. It is my understanding that the interim President of Venezuela will be travelling to India next week as well,” he added.
The remarks are being seen as a signal that Washington is exploring ways for India to source more crude from Venezuela under an arrangement that remains closely overseen by the US administration. The move could also help reduce Russia’s share in India’s energy imports amid continuing Western pressure on Moscow.
Government sources in India, however, clarified that Rodriguez’s proposed visit was linked to the first International Big Cat Alliance summit, which was to be held alongside the India-Africa summit. Both events are now expected to be rescheduled.
Rubio is expected to hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday and participate in the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Calling India a “great ally” and “great partner,” Rubio said there was significant scope to expand cooperation.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
