Marco Rubio Opens India Trip With Modi White House Invitation

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a four-day visit to India on Saturday, extending an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House.

The trip was expected to centre on efforts to repair strains between Washington and New Delhi after recent trade disputes, especially over India’s continued imports of Russian oil. Energy security was also on the agenda, with India badly affected by the US-Israeli war in Iran and Tehran’s effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.

In New Delhi, Rubio took part in a ribbon-cutting event for a new section of the US embassy. The senior US diplomat described the building as a “sign of our commitment to this important relationship”.

“This important relationship between our two countries is at the cornerstone of our approach to the Indo-Pacific,” Rubio said.

According to the State Department, Rubio and Modi “agreed to deepen trade and defence cooperation and accelerate collaboration on critical and emerging technologies”.

Rubio’s programme is due to end with a session of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad, which brings together the United States, Japan, Australia and India. The grouping was formed as a response to China’s growing regional influence.

Although the Quad has existed since 2007, it was mostly inactive until being revived in 2017. Its meetings have repeatedly drawn objections from Beijing.

The Quad talks follow US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing in early May, when he met President Xi Jinping. That encounter featured warm public remarks from both sides, but produced few firm agreements.

Even though Washington has placed renewed emphasis on India in recent years, early moves by the Trump administration have unsettled the relationship. Last year, the administration raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent because of New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil, a supply source India has relied on for years.

Trump and Modi later announced a deal under which India would start moving away from Russian oil. But the war involving the US, Israel and Iran, along with the disruption it caused in global energy markets, has led India to keep buying Russian crude.

Rubio was expected to press Modi for India to increase oil purchases from the United States and Venezuela.

The conflict with Iran remained a major issue as Rubio arrived in New Delhi. A new round of threats and diplomatic activity left open both the possibility of renewed US attacks and the chance of movement towards a durable ceasefire.

Rubio said there had been “some progress” in the latest negotiations, adding that “there is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say”.

Speaking with reporters, Rubio again set out US demands that Iran permit free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which became an important pressure point for Tehran during the conflict. He also repeated Washington’s call for Iran to surrender its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, a condition Tehran has rejected several times.

US-India ties have also been strained by improving relations between Washington and Pakistan, which has been helping mediate US-Iran talks. Tensions between India and Pakistan remain deeply rooted and stayed high after a short air war last May.

Trump said he arranged a ceasefire in that confrontation, while India’s government maintained that no outside pressure influenced the agreement.

Rubio also travelled to Kolkata on Saturday, where he visited Mother Teresa’s tomb and the headquarters of her charity. His itinerary also included planned stops in Agra and Jaipur.