Secretary of State Rubio Begins Four-Day Visit to India

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in India over the weekend for a four-day trip that included meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the foreign ministers of India, Australia and Japan. Temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the visit. Rubio spoke at the inauguration of the new U.S. Embassy building in New Delhi on Saturday, noting the heat.

Rubio met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday. The two countries have reached an interim agreement on certain trade aspects, though disputes remain over energy. On Tuesday Rubio described meetings with Quad counterparts as productive and announced initiatives on maritime surveillance, port infrastructure and critical minerals.

He also said the U.S. and India signed a pact on critical minerals and rare-earth supply chains.

Rubio said discussions included the war with Iran and called for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen as part of a possible deal between Washington and Tehran. He told reporters the deal would take a few days to finalize. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Tuesday that cooperation between countries should not target third parties.

Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Rubio, toured the Taj Mahal on Monday and the Amber Fort in Jaipur. They also visited the resting place of Mother Teresa in Kolkata on Saturday. From India, Rubio traveled to the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Tuesday to meet with foreign officials for a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony.