U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to start first India visit on May 23

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will pay his first visit to India between May 23 and 26, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.

The visit will be closely watched as it comes against the backdrop of the U.S.’s continued engagement in hostilities in the Persian Gulf region, which have had consequences for India’s energy security. Mr. Rubio’s visit is part of a tightly packed Indian diplomatic calendar for this summer and monsoon season, with New Delhi expected to host meetings of BRICS, the Quad, the India-Africa Forum Summit, and other platforms.

“As America gets ready to celebrate our 250th birthday, we look forward to doing it with our partners in India. India is the world’s largest democracy and we are the world’s oldest. So, we look forward to celebrating it together,” Mr. Rubio said, in a video message that was shared on X by the U.S. Embassy in India. He will visit Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur, and New Delhi.

Energy security on the agenda

“The secretary will discuss energy security, trade, and defense cooperation during meetings with senior Indian officials,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott said. Mr. Rubio will come to India from Sweden, where he will attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting on May 22.

The visit is connected to unfolding regional and global diplomatic dialogues, coming days after India hosted the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting that was attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his deputy Kazem Gharibabadi. During those meetings, the Iranian delegation said the “trust deficit” with the United States is holding back the diplomatic resolution of the conflict in West Asia that started on February 28.

Quad FM meet soon

The State Department’s announcement did not mention the Quad Foreign Ministers meeting that is also expected to be held in the near future. In a post on X, however, the U.S. Embassy mentioned the Quad meeting. “The U.S. Embassy in India looks forward to welcoming Secretary Rubio for his first visit to India, ministerial Quad meetings, high level engagements, and celebrating 250 years of America,” it said.

Asked for confirmation, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said that the mission did not have any “further details”. “Additional details will be announced in due time,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier, on May 12, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said, “We are the host for the Quad Summit this year. As part of this, we have had several meetings at the technical level. We will also be having some high-level meetings, and we shall keep you informed of those meetings, as and when they are about to take place.”

Kolkata visit

Mr. Rubio’s visit to Kolkata is the first by a U.S. Secretary of State in almost fourteen years. The last time the city hosted the U.S. Secretary of State was in May 2012, when Hillary Clinton visited Kolkata and met the then-Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

This visit comes weeks after Ms. Banerjee lost the West Bengal Assembly election, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power in the State for the first time. The West Bengal government confirmed that Mr. Rubio will meet Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The U.S. Secretary of State is also likely to visit the Missionaries of Charity, an organisation founded by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. U.S. Ambassador Sergio Gor had previously visited the Missionaries of Charity headquarters in the city as well.