Marco Rubio to visit India from May 23 after NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden

Key points

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to India from May 23 to 26 after attending a key NATO foreign ministers meeting in Helsingborg.
• According to the US State Department, Rubio’s India visit will include stops in Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi, where he is expected to hold discussions on energy security, trade and defence cooperation with senior Indian officials.
• Rubio is also expected to engage with counterparts from the Quad grouping — comprising India, United States, Australia and Japan — during the visit.
• The Quad has increasingly become a central platform for Indo-Pacific cooperation as Washington seeks to deepen partnerships in the region amid rising competition with China.
• The trip comes at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty following the Iran conflict, rising global energy prices and renewed concerns among NATO allies over Trump’s approach toward the military alliance.