India is important to the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific policy, says Rubio, invites Modi to Washington

India plays an important role in the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific policy, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met and invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington later this year, said. The U.S.’s top diplomat began his four-day trip to India in Kolkata on Saturday (May 23, 2026) morning with a visit to the Missionaries of Charity, and then travelled to Delhi. Rubio will hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday (May 24, 2026), and attend the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) along with Ministers from Australia and Japan on Tuesday (May 26, 2026). One of his missions in India was to “renew” the Quad engagement, Mr. Rubio said, crediting Mr. Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump as drivers of the India-U.S. engagement. The two leaders are expected to meet in June when they travel to Evian in France for the G-7 summit, where India is one the countries invited to an outreach summit. In addition, Mr. Modi, who has visited the Trump White House once already in February 2025, is expected to travel to the U.S. for the G-20 summit in Mar-a-Lago in December this year. Also Read: Marco Rubio in India LIVE updates “Secretary Rubio briefed Prime Minister Modi on the sustained progress in bilateral cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including defence, strategic technologies, trade and investment, energy security, connectivity, education and people-to-people ties,” a statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott added that Mr. Rubio had extended an invitation, on behalf of President Trump, to the Prime Minister to visit the White House, and had discussed the conflict with Iran. “The Secretary emphasised that the United States will not let Iran hold the global energy market hostage and affirmed that U.S. energy products have the potential to diversify India’s energy supply,” Mr. Pigott said. Also Read: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in New Delhi to reset strained bilateral relations The PIB statement said Mr. Modi had stated India’s “consistent support for peace efforts” and “reiterated the call for peaceful resolution of the conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy”. This is the third time the Quad Foreign Ministers will meet since Mr. Trump returned to power, as they met in January and July 2025. However, they have not so far been able to schedule a date for the Quad Summit, due to be held in India for the past two years, partly due to the strain in ties between both countries over American tariffs, sanctions, and visa restrictions, as well as Washington’s claims of having mediated the India-Pakistan ceasefire in 2025, which New Delhi has denied.

“My very first meeting officially as Secretary of State was a meeting of the Quad. We are going to renew that,” Mr. Rubio said, speaking at an event at the U.S. Embassy’s premises to inaugurate a new ‘Support Annexe Building’. The Quad FMM in India was important “as a tangible sign of what an important role India plays for the United States and [its] posture and approach to the Indo-Pacific”, he said. The Support Annexe building will contain several consular and visa section offices, Mr. Rubio said, announcing that the U.S. would shortly begin a priority visa service for Indians travelling to the United States for business and investment. The timing of the event, however, coincided with new U.S. restrictions on H1-B visas and regulations, mandating Permanent Resident Card (or ‘Green Card’) applicants leave the U.S. and complete their applications in their home countries, which would mean considerable dislocation for Indian professionals. “We are here because we believe that a strong America and a strong India are essential to the world. When I saw Indian companies committing $20.5 billion to the U.S. economy, I was simply blown away,” the U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said at the inauguration ceremony, referring to a recent ‘Select USA’ investment summit in Washington, where Indian businesses promised more than $20 billion in investment Memoranda of Understanding.

On Saturday evening, Mr. Rubio attended a reception in his honour hosted by Mr. Gor, where External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri as well as Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu were present. In addition to his diplomatic meetings, the U.S. Secretary of State will attend the U.S. Embassy’s annual Independence Day event on Sunday (May 24, 2026), which is expected to be a special celebration for the 250th year since the U.S. Constitution was adopted. He is also travelling to Jaipur and Agra on Monday (May 25, 2026), where sight-seeing and cultural ties are expected to be on the agenda.