New Delhi: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House in near future. The US ambassador to India Sergio Gor confirmed the same on his social media account. Taking to X, Gor wrote, "Secretary Marco Rubio extended an invite on behalf of President Donald Trump, for Prime Minister Modi to visit the White House in the near future!"
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Saturday after arriving for his first official visit to India -- a trip aimed at recalibrating the bilateral relations that have faced headwinds since mid-last year. The top US diplomat is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in addition to attending a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers in New Delhi.On Sunday, he is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Jaishankar and attend the US Embassy's Independence Day celebrations.
"Landed in India. Looking forward to a great visit," Rubio said in a social media post after he reached Kolkata this morning. He visited the Mother House -- the headquarters of Saint Teresa's Missionaries of Charity -- before flying to the national capital. "Warmly welcome Secretary of State Marco Rubio of the USA to New Delhi. His visit will add further strength to India-USA Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jasiwal said on X.
US Ambassador Sergio Gor, welcoming the Secretary of State, outlined a forward-looking agenda aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. He underlined the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Washington's focus on realising President Donald Trump's strategic vision for a stronger US-India partnership. Rubio called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after reaching the national capital.
The Secretary of State will travel to Agra and Jaipur on Monday before returning to Delhi on Tuesday morning for the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Ways to bolster India-US ties in energy, trade, investment, critical technology and people-to-people exchanges are likely to dominate the talks between Jaishankar and Rubio, people familiar with the matter said.
Rubio's trip to India comes over five weeks after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri undertook a three-day visit to Washington DC that focused on stabilising the ties after a spell of uncertainty and strain. The relations between the two countries witnessed a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India and President Donald Trump made controversial assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan military clashes last May.
Over the next few months, the US president repeatedly and publicly claimed that he had resolved the military conflict between the two neighbours and saved millions of lives as it was heading towards a full-scale war. New Delhi stoutly maintained that the cessation of the hostilities was a result of talks between India and Pakistan, and the US involvement had nothing to do with it.
Washington's new immigration policy and its decision to increase the H1B visa fee also contributed to the slide in India-US ties. However, both sides have made efforts in the last few months to repair the ties.The two sides have also resolved to firm up a mutually beneficial trade deal soon.
President Trump and PM Modi held a nearly 40-minute phone conversation on April 14. Following the call, Modi said he and Trump reviewed the "substantial progress" in the bilateral ties and that both sides are committed to further strengthening the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership in "all areas"
