Rubio begins four-day India visit centred on Quad talks, security ties
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio begins a four-day visit to India on Saturday following his participation in the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden.
According to the US Embassy in India, he will visit the cities of Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and the capital New Delhi. Planned meetings with senior Indian officials will centre on topics including energy security, trade and defence cooperation. Further details were not immediately available.
India, which also maintains strong ties with Russia, is an important strategic partner of the US. India describes the defence partnership as a crucial pillar of the relationship.
On Tuesday in New Delhi, Rubio will join his counterparts from India, Australia and Japan at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the so-called Quad group.
The meeting will focus, among other things, on strengthening cooperation among the four countries.
The group aims to guarantee a free and open Indo-Pacific, which generally refers to a region stretching from the Indian to the North Pacific Ocean, encompassing most of Asia and extending to the US West Coast.
