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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India from May 23-26 for the Quad foreign ministers’ summit in New Delhi. Talks will focus on trade, energy security, defence ties and Indo-Pacific cooperation. Rubio also pushed for greater Indian purchases of American energy, including Venezuelan oil, amid discussions over the US sanctions waiver on Russian crude.

New Delhi: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting India for the foreign ministerial Quad summit in New Delhi on Tuesday. According to a statement from US State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott, “Rubio will travel to India from May 23-26, where he will visit Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur, and New Delhi”. “The Secretary will discuss energy security, trade, and defence cooperation during meetings with senior Indian officials,” it said. It is Rubio’s first trip to India as the Secretary of State.

India also confirmed his arrival with a statement issued on Monday. The Ministry of External Affairs said: “At the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of Australia Penny Wong; Foreign Minister of Japan Toshimitsu Motegi; and US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will undertake an official visit to New Delhi to participate in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 26 May.” 

“In keeping with the Quad vision for a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific', the Ministers will build on discussions held in Washington, D.C. on July 1, 2025. They will exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern.”

Rubio’s visit is being viewed with interest given the pending FTA to be signed between India and the US and whether the US would continue its sanctions waiver on Russian oil. The waiver, which was first introduced on March 12-14 this year, was extended in April and May, and New Delhi would be keen to see it continue. In a media briefing on Monday, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the Petroleum Ministry said. “Regarding (the) American waiver on Russia, I would like to emphasise that we have been purchasing from Russia earlier ... I mean, before waiver also, during waiver also, and now also.”