U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Kolkata on Saturday at the start of a four-day visit to India that includes stops in New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and comes ahead of a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting next week.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata early Saturday, beginning a four-day trip that U.S. and Indian officials have framed as a push to bolster cooperation ahead of next week’s meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad.
Rubio’s first official visit to India as secretary of state comes as Washington and New Delhi work to stabilize ties that have been strained by U.S. tariff policies affecting Indian exports, according to an Associated Press report carried by NPR.
Rubio was scheduled to visit Mother House in Kolkata, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa, before traveling on to New Delhi. U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said in a social media post that Rubio would call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi later Saturday in the capital.
According to the same AP report, Rubio is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting on Sunday with India’s external affairs minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The Quad foreign ministers’ meeting is scheduled for Tuesday in New Delhi.
A Reuters report said Rubio’s discussions in India were expected to focus on trade, energy and defense cooperation, as the United States seeks to reinforce a partnership that has faced renewed friction over tariffs and wider regional dynamics.
