MUMBAI – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in India yesterday, his second official visit to the country this year, as he pursues an Asian tour blending diplomacy and trade.
Rubio visited Uzbekistan, where he called for stronger partnerships with Central Asian countries, before landing in Mumbai for talks with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and meetings with business leaders.
He visited New Delhi and Kolkata in May, when he also toured the Taj Mahal and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi is not scheduled to meet Rubio this time. The top US diplomat will visit Jamnagar, in the western state of Gujarat, a port and stronghold of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance conglomerate and its flagship refinery, the world’s largest.
He is also due to lay a wreath in memory of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on yesterday he had also spoken to Rubio and raised issues with the US military satellite system that Ukraine uses, as well as missile delays. Zelensky, expected in Oslo for talks with US envoys, said he told Rubio that “Starlink/Starshield needs to be restored” and that ballistic missile interceptors “are needed to protect lives”.
Rubio’s visit comes as India and the United States struggle to finalise a trade deal, a persistent source of friction between the two countries.
Speaking in Samarkand, Rubio said Washington and New Delhi were “very close” to an agreement.
However, a deal during his visit appears unlikely. – Nampa/AFP
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