US Secretary of State Rubio to skip New Delhi during India visit — Al Jazeera
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India next week but will not travel to the country’s capital, New Delhi. On Monday, he will hold talks in Mumbai with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and then visit an oil refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Al Jazeera reports, citing the US State Department.
Talks and energy
The State Department said that Rubio will discuss the two countries’ strategic partnership and cooperation in the energy sector with Indian government representatives, as well as hold meetings with business representatives. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the agenda for the talks in Mumbai will include energy, trade, investment, defense, critical and emerging technologies.
In Jamnagar, Rubio is expected to visit the world’s largest single-site oil refinery. It is operated by the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries. According to The Hindu newspaper, the US secretary of state will also attend a reception organized by the Ambani family.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Opposition reaction
The visit’s itinerary drew criticism from the Indian opposition after a statement by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, he said that Washington expects Jaishankar and other officials from New Delhi to travel to Mumbai to meet Rubio.
Jairam Ramesh, general secretary of the Indian National Congress party, called the statement unusual. Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader in the lower house of parliament, said Rubio had “summoned his employee to Mumbai.” Congress lawmaker Pawan Khera called it a new low for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tensions in relations
The visit comes amid disputes between the United States and India over trade, tariffs and India’s purchases of Russian oil. After trade negotiations collapsed in August 2025, the United States imposed 50% tariffs on most Indian goods, but in February reduced the rate to 18% under an agreed framework. Negotiations have been suspended since then.
