US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in India on Tuesday and spoke to reporters in Mumbai about bilateral trade and strategic ties between the two countries. He also addressed issues related to India's purchases of Russian oil and the war in Ukraine.
Speaking about the India-US trade agreement, Rubio said that while the US State Department does not negotiate trade agreements, it remains involved in the process. "As far as the trade agreement is concerned, the State Department doesn’t negotiate trade agreements, but we are very much involved in what’s happening. My counterpart, the National Security Advisor, and I care a lot about it. We’re very, very close. I would say we’re about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement. I think there’s a small number of items left to wrap up, so I think that will happen shortly. We’re hoping, which it should, and hopefully have some good news to announce soon and sign it thereafter. So, we’re very optimistic that we will have something in place here very soon," he stated.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday held wide-ranging talks largely focusing on cooperation in the energy and defence sectors against the backdrop of continuing friction in bilateral ties. The Jaishankar-Rubio meeting took place shortly after the top US diplomat landed in Mumbai on a three-day India visit that came nearly five months after his first trip to the country as the Secretary of State.
Before his talks with Jaishankar, Rubio visited the Taj memorial and laid a wreath in honour of the victims of the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that included six American citizens. "In Mumbai, Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar and I discussed energy security and defense cooperation while reaffirming the importance of advancing the U.S.-India strategic partnership," the US Secretary of State said on social media.
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