US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on a 4-day visit to India. By meeting PM Modi, he will increase strategic cooperation on trade, defence, energy and Quad. He will also attend the Quad meeting on 26 May.
Kolkata: US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio has reached India on his four-day visit. He first reached Kolkata, from where he will meet many big leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the first visit of Foreign Minister Marco Rubio to India after one and a half years of Donald Trump becoming President. At the same time, after 14 years an American Foreign Minister has come to Kolkata. Earlier in 2012, the then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had visited Kolkata.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gore said that Secretary Marco Rubio has reached Kolkata and this is his first visit to India. Sergio Gore told on social media platform X that Rubio will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi this evening. The purpose of this visit is to advance cooperation in many important areas like trade, technology, defense and Quad in the coming days.
This visit of the US Secretary of State is taking place at a time when equations are changing rapidly in the world and India and America are trying to give a new direction to their strategic relations. Issues like energy, security and defense cooperation will be discussed in this meeting. In this also, special attention will be given to energy related issues. America wants to increase its share in India’s energy market through export of LNG and crude oil.
Marco Rubio will stay in India till 26 May. Apart from Kolkata and Delhi, he will also visit Agra and Jaipur. According to the US Consulate, there is also a possibility that Rubio may visit St. Theresa Missionaries of Charity in central Kolkata. On May 26, Rubio will also attend the meeting of Quad leaders to be held in Delhi. The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in which the foreign ministers of Australia and Japan will also participate. The purpose of this meeting is to further strengthen mutual cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.