US Secretary of StateMarco Rubio, who arrived in India for a four-day crucial visit earlier today, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi inNew Delhi. The meeting between the two lasted for over an hour. This is Rubio's first official trip to India, under Donald Trump's second term in theWhite Houseas President. Rubio first landed in Kolkata and later flew to New Delhi. His visit is aimed at recalibrating the bilateral relations that have faced headwinds since mid-last year. The Secretary of State extended President Trump's invitation for the Prime Minister to visit the White House in the near future.
Upon landing in India earlier today, Rubio took to X, formerly Twitter, and said, "Landed in India. Looking forward to a great visit." In Kolkata, he visited the Mother House -- the headquarters of Saint Teresa's Missionaries of Charity -- before flying to the national capital.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed Marco Rubio to India and said, "Warmly welcome Secretary of State Marco Rubio of the USA to New Delhi. His visit will add further strength to India-USA Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership."
US Ambassador Sergio Gor, welcoming the Secretary of State, outlined a forward-looking agenda aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. He underlined the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Washington's focus on realising President Donald Trump's strategic vision for a stronger US-India partnership.
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio calls upon PM Modi in New Delhi | Source: @narendramodi/X
Rubio called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after reaching the national capital. On Sunday, he is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Jaishankar and attend the US Embassy's Independence Day celebrations.
The Secretary of State will travel to Agra and Jaipur on Monday before returning to Delhi on Tuesday morning for the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
Ways to bolster India-US ties in energy, trade, investment, critical technology and people-to-people exchanges are likely to dominate the talks between Jaishankar and Rubio, people familiar with the matter said.
The two sides are also expected to deliberate on the West Asia crisis and its economic impact, including on energy supplies, they said.
Rubio's trip to India comes over five weeks after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri undertook a three-day visit to Washington DC that focused on stabilising the ties after a spell of uncertainty and strain.
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