India-US ties: Marco Rubio seeks India's oil & energy co-operation Ad Ad options Learn more

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held high-level talks with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai. The talks come as New Delhi and Washington seek to finalize a long-awaited trade agreement. Today, Rubio is set to visit Jamnagar, an energy hub in Gujarat, where he will tour an oil refinery. Now, this visit is significant as Washington seeks to expand energy cooperation with India. Rubio has said he wants to discuss the possibility of India refining more Venezuelan oil. While the Ministry of External Affairs has issued a statement on Rubio's visit, it said both sides reviewed the entire gambit of India-U.S. relations and discussed ways to further strengthen their comprehensive global strategic partnership. New Delhi and Washington reviewed cooperation in trade, defense, technology and energy, welcoming progress on the bilateral trade pact and vowing to expedite its conclusion. Rubio welcomed India's efforts to diversify its energy sources, saying New Delhi has made substantial progress. He said the U.S. wants a strong ally with diverse energy sources. Rubio has also highlighted India's oil refining capacity, calling it a refining superpower. Well, he stressed that Washington looks to strengthen energy cooperation with New Delhi amid global supply disruptions and rising oil price concerns. First of all, I think what India has expressed repeatedly is their desire to diversify their energy portfolio, which is a smart thing to do. obviously it's not easy to do that from one day to the next so I think they've made substantial progress in that regard and we're happy to see that but in the end it's not just about Russian oil it's about their desire to diversify and obviously we think we could be a source of some of their energy inputs In his meeting with Dr. S. Jaishankar Rubio also defended Washington's decision to waive sanctions linked to Russian oil and gas The U.S. Secretary of State acknowledged that India continues to depend significantly on Russian energy while also diversifying its sources of supply. Rubio also spoke about plans for a trade deal between India and the U.S. As far as the trade agreement is concerned, obviously the State Department doesn't negotiate trade agreements, but we are very much involved in what's happened in my purchase. National Security Advisor, we care a lot about it. We're very, very close. I would say we're about as close as you can be without an even executed agreement. Now, this is Rubio's second visit to India this year. During his May visit, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. and attended a Quad Foreign Ministers meeting. As part of his Mumbai engagements, Rubio laid a wreath at the Taj Memorial to honour the victims of the 26-11 terror attacks, which killed 166 people, including six American nationals. The top US diplomat also visited the Gateway of India monument along with his wife. He is also scheduled to attend a reception marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. India and the US have been negotiating a trade deal since early 2025. The talks aim to resolve tariff disputes, reduce trade barriers and improve market access. India is also seeking better tariff terms for its exports to the United States.