US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in India on Saturday on a mission to bolster a partnership battered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and Washington’s renewed engagement with New Delhi’s rivals, Pakistan and China.
After landing in Kolkata, Mr Rubio visited the headquarters of the humanitarian organisation and religious group founded by Mother Teresa. He is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi later on Saturday before attending embassy events.
Mr Rubio’s talks in India are expected to focus on trade, energy and defence co-operation, the State Department said. The four-day trip, Mr Rubio’s first visit to the South Asian nation, will also include stops in Agra and Jaipur.
US presidents, including Mr Trump in his first term, have long tried to pull historically non-aligned India closer as a counterweight to Russian and rising Chinese influence in the region. Those efforts appeared to take a blow last year when Mr Trump imposed some of the highest US tariffs on India.
Many of those were rolled back in an interim agreement, but the two countries have yet to finalise a comprehensive agreement on trade.
Oil supply to India
India has also increased purchases of Russian oil during the conflict, after briefly pulling back last year under pressure from Washington.
Mr Rubio said on Thursday that the US was already in talks to expand its share of India’s energy supply.
“We want to sell them as much energy as they’ll buy,” he said. “There’s a lot to work on with India. They’re a great ally, a great partner. We do a lot of good work with them.”
An analysis from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies showed India’s purchases of Russian oil rose from roughly 20,000 barrels a day before the imposition of sanctions to a peak of two million bpd, saving Indian refineries between $11 billion and $25 billion in 2023-2024.
India has been hit hard because of its heavy reliance on energy supplies shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. The Indian government this month rushed to introduce measures to contain the fallout, including raising fuel prices.
During his visit, Mr Rubio will also take part in a meeting of the Quad on Tuesday, a grouping of the US, India, Japan and Australia. The partnership focuses on promoting a free and inclusive Indo-Pacific and is widely viewed as a counterweight to China’s growing economic and military influence in the region.
