US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday visited the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata as he began his first official visit to India, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in areas including trade, defence, technology and energy security.
Accompanied by his wife Jeanette D Rubio, the US Secretary of State visited the Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, a specialised children’s home run by the Missionaries of Charity. He also paid a visit to the Mother House in central Kolkata, the global headquarters of the congregation founded by Mother Teresa in 1950.
Rubio’s arrival marks the first visit by a US Secretary of State to Kolkata in 14 years. The last top American diplomat to visit the city was Hillary Clinton in 2012.
The four-day India visit comes ahead of the upcoming QUAD foreign ministers’ meeting scheduled to be held in New Delhi on May 26. Rubio is expected to hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Indian leaders on a range of strategic issues.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor received Rubio at the airport and later announced the visit through a post on X.
“Secretary Marco Rubio has landed in Kolkata. This is his first trip to India. Later today, we will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Trade, Technology, Defence, QUAD, and many other items to discuss and advance over the next few days,” Gor said.
According to officials, the discussions during the visit are expected to focus on defence cooperation, advanced technologies, trade partnerships and Indo-Pacific strategy under the framework of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
Ahead of the visit, Rubio had said the United States was prepared to significantly scale up energy exports to India. Speaking to reporters in Miami earlier this week, he said Washington was ready to supply “as much energy” as India was willing to purchase.
He described India as a “great partner” and stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral ties amid global economic and geopolitical uncertainties. Rubio also confirmed his participation in the QUAD foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi.
The QUAD meeting, chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, will bring together Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to discuss developments in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the meeting would build on discussions held in Washington DC in July 2025 and further the QUAD vision of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
-ANI
