Finance
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday, signaling some progress in repairing bilateral relations after a difficult year. They discussed “defense, strategic technologies, trade and investment, energy security, connectivity, education, and people-to-people ties.”
Rubio, who arrived in Kolkata in the morning before flying to New Delhi, also “shared the US perspective on various regional and global issues, including the situation in West Asia,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, “The Secretary and Prime Minister discussed the current situation in the Middle East. The Secretary emphasized that the United States will not let Iran hold the global energy market hostage and affirmed that US energy products have the potential to diversify India’s energy supply”.
The Prime Minister, according to the PMO, reaffirmed India’s consistent support for “peace efforts and reiterated the call for peaceful resolution of the conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy”, the PMO.
Rubio’s visit – he will be attending the May 26 meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers – is important given that bilateral ties have been hit in the last 12 months, more so post Operation Sindoor. US visa curbs, deportations and President Donald Trump’s pronounced tilt towards Pakistan. The war in West Asia, triggered by the US-Israel combine’s attack on Iran, has had an adverse economic impact on India.
In a big picture message on his conversation with the US Secretary of State, Modi, in a post on X, said, “Happy to receive the US Secretary of State, Mr Marco Rubio. We discussed sustained progress in the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and issues related to regional and global peace and security. India and the United States will continue to work closely for the global good.”
According to the PMO statement, Rubio briefed the Prime Minister on the continued advancement of bilateral collaboration in a variety of sectors, including defense, strategic technologies, commerce and investment, energy security, connectivity, education, and people-to-people ties.
According to the State Department spokesperson, they “reflected upon recent bilateral achievements, including significant investments that advance the President and Prime Minister’s ‘Mission 500’ to double trade by 2030.”
“The Secretary and Prime Minister agreed to deepen trade and defense cooperation and accelerate collaboration on critical and emerging technologies. Secretary Rubio shared his appreciation for India hosting the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and looked forward to advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region alongside Australia, India, and Japan,” the US spokesperson said.
Echoing some of the topics discussed, Sergio Gor, US Ambassador to India, said, “We had a productive discussion on ways to deepen US-India cooperation across security, trade, and critical technologies – areas that strengthen both our nations and advance a free and open Indo-Pacific. India is a vital partner to the United States.”
He also said Rubio “extended an invite on behalf of President Donald Trump, for Prime Minister Modi to visit the White House in the near future”.
In fact, it is Trump’s turn to visit India since Modi travelled to the US in February 2025. And the summit of the Quad leaders, which would have brought Trump, could not take place last year. That summit is expected to take place later this year.
“Prime Minister requested Secretary Rubio to convey his warm greetings to President Trump and said that he looked forward to their continued exchanges,” the PMO said.
The State Department spokesperson said, “The Secretary underscored the strategic importance of the US-India partnership, rooted in our shared democratic values, profound economic and commercial opportunity, and the strong personal ties between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi.”
Rubio, while inaugurating a support annex building at the US embassy in New Delhi, said, “It is, I hope, a sign of our commitment to the support and relationship… It is this relationship between our two countries which is at the cornerstone of our approach to the Indo-Pacific.”
Recalling that a meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers was his first meeting as Secretary of State, he said, “A lot of people aren’t aware of this, but I was sworn in as Secretary of State on Tuesday… after the inauguration. Within the hour, I was at the State Department, spoke briefly, as is the tradition, in the lobby of that building to our staff, and then went immediately upstairs to the eighth floor. And my first meeting, my very first meeting, officially as Secretary of State, was a meeting of the Quad, and we were going to renew that. We did it again last year, in a second, in a different setting, and we’re, and we chose to do it here, we wanted to do it here, not just because of our commitment to that structure of work, but also as a tangible sign of what an important role India plays in the United States, and in our posture, and in our approach.”
“Anchoring that is the relationship between the President and the Prime Minister. It’s a personal relationship that dates back to the first administration, when the President had a chance to visit here, and it has carried over into the second administration, and you can just see the connection between them, and I think that’s incredibly important. These are two very serious leaders that are focused not just on the short term but on the long term, and so I think that that is important to note, because it’s a key part of the foundation of the relationship between our countries.”
He also spoke of the two tangible outcomes in the last one year: more than USD 20 billion investment by Indian companies in the US and the deepening of their security partnership.
“Just in the past year, we’ve seen this partnership deepen in ways that don’t often make headlines or aren’t splashy, but are important and real and tangible and enduring. We’ve expanded commercial ties now with more than 20 billion in investments, 20 billion in investments from Indian companies in the United States. We’ve deepened a security partnership through military exercises in the Indo-Pacific.”
“We recognize that an orderly and a secure consular system is vital to solidifying the support relationship, that’s why we’re introducing a new America First visa scheduling tool that prioritizes business professionals that strengthen these ties,” he said.
Rubio’s statements provided a preview of the agenda for his bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday. This will be a significant effort to restore relationships and rebuild the relationship.
In Kolkata, Rubio visited the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa. After the visit, along with his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, he posted on X, “Mother Teresa left a tremendous legacy of compassion and service. I was honored to visit the Missionaries of Charity today to pay homage to her legacy and to see the living example of the Catholic faith in action.”
Source: IE
