Rubio in India: Did he succeed in repairing the India-US partnership?

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited India for four days from May 23-26, 2026. It was his first visit to India after assuming office in January 2025.

Relations between India and the US have grown progressively over the last quarter of a century. The two countries started on a positive note in Trump's second term with an early and substantive stand-alone visit by PM Narendra Modi to the White House on 13th February, 2025.

In a surprising move, however, the US slapped 25 per cent tariffs on imports from India on April 3rd, 2025. This was followed on 10th May, 2025, by President Trump's announcement about the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in the Op Sindoor conflict, even before India had made the announcement. India never accepted Trump's claim of having mediated the ceasefire. Matters deteriorated further with the imposition of an additional 25 per cent penalty tariff on Indian goods due to the purchase of Russian oil. Other importers, including China, which imported more Russian oil and gas than India, were left untouched.

The last year also witnessed several derogatory remarks emanating from the right-wing Trump support base and senior officials of the US administration. Trump's frequent compliments to PM Modi in recent months, amidst such remarks against India and Indians, have been viewed as patronising in India.

It was against this background that Rubio undertook his visit. He called on PM Modi, held bilateral discussions with EAM Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and participated in the Quad foreign ministers' meeting.

In addition to New Delhi, he travelled to Kolkata, Agra and Jaipur. Recent months have also witnessed the US cosying up to Pakistan and China, the two avowed adversaries of India.

Bilateral discussions

Rubio had announced before his departure for India that he would encourage India to buy more energy from the US and possibly also from Venezuela. On the economic front, Rubio and Jaishankar spoke about the value of concluding the interim agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. Energy formed a significant aspect of the discussions, as ensuring the accessibility and affordability of energy for India's 1.4 billion people remains India's prime objective. The ministers also discussed nuclear energy cooperation in the backdrop of the recent visit by an American delegation.

On defence and security, a comprehensive underwater domain awareness roadmap was signed. Cooperation in critical minerals and Pax Silica received special mention. A bilateral agreement to promote partnership and ensure trusted, reliable supply chains in this crucial field was inked.

Jaishankar raised the problems faced by legitimate Indian travellers in the issuance of visas by the US and expressed India's expectation that legal mobility from India would not be hampered. The necessity of continued strong cooperation and zero tolerance towards terrorism was highlighted.

The Quad deliberations

The Quad foreign ministers' meeting took place on May 26, 2026. This was the third such meeting since Trump assumed office in January 2025. There has been considerable disquiet in Indian political and academic circles as the Quad Summit, to be hosted by India in 2025, was not held, and there is no indication of where and when it might take place. Observers see this as evidence of the US losing interest in the Quad. In Trump's first term, the Quad was revived in 2017 after a decade of hibernation. Trump had then identified China as a systemic threat with the capacity and intent to dislodge the US from its pre-eminent global position. In his second term, after facing pushback from China through export controls on critical minerals, Trump termed China not a strategic threat but a commercial competitor.

The Quad foreign ministers' meeting was therefore a welcome opportunity to revitalise the forum. It is widely recognised that China is perceived as a security threat in the Indo-Pacific. All Quad members seek active US engagement to ensure peace, security, and a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific. The Quad decided to expand cooperation under the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). It launched the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC) to strengthen coordination in maritime surveillance. The ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, and condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April 2025.

Conclusion

Being smart, articulate and a long-time supporter of India, Rubio tried to undertake as much damage control as possible. His visit, which combined the bilateral agenda alongside the Quad foreign ministers' meeting, attempted to repair one of the worst phases in bilateral ties caused largely by Washington's unilateral moves, while also trying to revive the Quad framework, which had remained moribund over the past year. Timely implementation of the decisions taken during Rubio's visit will determine the success of his trip.

The writer is an Executive Council Member at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Distinguished Fellow at the Ananta Aspen Centre, and former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia; Views presented are personal.