US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Saturday during his first official visit to India, as the two countries seek to reset bilateral ties that have faced strain since last year.
Rubio described India as a “cornerstone” of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy and said an “America First” visa schedule prioritising business professionals will deepen economic ties with New Delhi.
“It is at the cornerstone of this important partnership between us and India, which, as I said, is an incredibly important one,” Rubio said.
“It’s the reason why I’m here on this visit -- to reaffirm those ties, to build upon them. We think in the months ahead, we’re going to have even more exciting and new announcements to make about the development and strengthening of the relationship between the two countries," he added
The US Secretary of State also announced a new “America First” visa schedule designed to prioritise business professionals and strengthen commercial engagement between the two countries.
“We’re introducing a new America First visa schedule that prioritises business professionals that strengthen these ties,” Rubio said, adding that the new embassy facility would help improve efficiency and support America’s diplomatic and security operations in India.
PM Modi said he was happy to receive Rubio and added that India and the US would continue to work closely for "global good."
"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," Modi wrote on X.
Speaking on the meeting, the PMO said Modi reaffirmed call for peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy.
US Ambassador Sergio Gor said Rubio had extended an invitation on behalf of US President Donald Trump for PM Modi to visit the White House.
Gor added that both sides held "productive discussion on ways to deepen US-India cooperation across security, trade and critical technologies."
Rubio, who arrived in Kolkata earlier in the day, is also expected to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and attend a meeting of Quad foreign ministers in New Delhi.
Gor, who earlier welcomed Rubio, 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.
The top US diplomat reached Kolkata this morning and visited the Mother House -- the headquarters of Saint Teresa's Missionaries of Charity -- before flying to the national capital.
Notably, Rubio's India itinerary, scheduled from May 23 to 26 and also encompassing Agra and Jaipur, is being viewed as diplomatically significant for his scheduled energy talks with India and the meeting with ministers from the Quad nations.
"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 told reporters in Miami before he embarked on the trip to Sweden and India.
On Sunday, Rubio 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.
The relations between the two countries witnessed a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India and President Donald Trump made controversial assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan military clashes last May.
Over the next few months, the US president repeatedly and publicly claimed that he had resolved the military conflict between the two neighbours and saved millions of lives as it was heading towards a full-scale war.
New Delhi stoutly maintained that the cessation of the hostilities was a result of talks between India and Pakistan, and the US involvement had nothing to do with it.
Washington's new immigration policy and its decision to increase the H1B visa fee also contributed to the slide in India-US ties. However, both sides have made efforts in the last few months to repair the ties. The two sides have resolved to firm up a mutually beneficial trade deal soon.
President Trump and PM Modi held a nearly 40-minute phone conversation on April 14. Following the call, Modi said he and Trump reviewed the "substantial progress" in the bilateral ties and that both sides are committed to further strengthening the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership in "all areas".
(With inputs from TNIE Online Desk)
