US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in India for key Quad and bilateral talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Kolkata on Saturday morning to begin his fourday visit to India marking his first trip to the country since assuming office last yearRubio was received by senior officials upon arrival and is expected to travel across multiple Indian cities including Agra and Jaipur during the visit According to US Ambassador Sergio Gor Rubio is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day in New DelhiThe visit comes at a time when Washington and New Delhi are seeking to deepen cooperation on strategic and economic issues amid evolving global geopolitical challengesTaking to social media platform X Gor posted Honored to welcome my friend Sec Rubio to India We have an ambitious agenda ahead including the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting focused on advancing POTUS vision for an even stronger USIndia partnershipLooking forward to great conversations and making real progress togetherThe top US diplomat will also hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday and is set to attend Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in Delhi on TuesdayDiscussions are expected to focus on the IndoPacific defence cooperation trade energy security and regional stabilityIndia is set to host the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi on May 26At the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Marco Rubio Australias Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will visit India to attend the Quad Foreign Ministers MeetingAhead of his visit to India Rubio said that Washington wants to expand energy ties with New Delhi and deepen coordination through the Quad while describing India as a great ally and great partner amid global supply disruptions linked to the Strait of HormuzLeaving for India with a stopover in Europe Rubio told reporters in Miami that the US was ready to increase energy exports to India as concerns grow over disruptions to global oil and gas supplies following tensions in West AsiaWe wanna sell them as much energy as theyll buy Rubio said when asked about India being deeply affected by the energy supply situation and the shutting of the Strait of HormuzObviously youve seen I think were at historic levels of US production and US export We wanna be able to do more Rubio said discussions with India on energy cooperation were already underway and would continue during his the visitWe were already in talks with them to do more We want next week as well So there are opportunities he saidThe Secretary of State described India as an increasingly important strategic partner for the United StatesTheres a lot to work on with India Theyre a great ally a great partner We do a lot of good work with them Rubio said It is an important trip Im glad were able to do it because I think therell be a lot for us to talk aboutRubio also underscored the significance of the Quad grouping Well also meet with the Quad there which is important he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever