Marco Rubio arrives in Mumbai for India talks as trade deal remains unsettled
The US secretary of state began a three-day visit on 20 October. Talks with S. Jaishankar, a memorial tribute and a stop in Jamnagar are on his schedule.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, 20 October, beginning a three-day visit that includes planned talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar as the two countries continue negotiations over a trade agreement.
The arrival is the next step in the trip covered in NewsJaws’ earlier report on Rubio’s India itinerary. Both the Times of India and Agence France-Presse reported that he had landed in Mumbai; the meetings and other stops remain scheduled engagements.
Rubio’s schedule in Mumbai and Jamnagar
Rubio is due to meet Jaishankar in Mumbai for bilateral talks focused on strengthening ties, according to the Times of India. AFP also reported that meetings with business leaders are planned. This is Rubio’s second official visit to India this year: AFP said he visited New Delhi and Kolkata in May and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi then. Modi is not scheduled to meet him on this trip.
Before the Jaishankar talks, Rubio is scheduled to lay a wreath at the Taj Memorial in the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, the Times of India reported. The tribute is for victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people, according to AFP. The Times of India also reported that Rubio is due at the Freedom 250 Reception at Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre on Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday, 21 October, Rubio is scheduled to travel to Jamnagar in Gujarat. AFP described the port city as a stronghold of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance conglomerate and the site of its flagship refinery, placing the stop in a major Indian energy centre.
Where US–India trade talks stand
Rubio said in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, that Washington and New Delhi were ‘very close’ to a trade agreement, AFP reported. The agency assessed that a deal during this visit appeared unlikely. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said earlier this month that negotiations had reached ‘a plateau, beyond which giving or taking might be very, very difficult’. No agreement has been announced.
The countries reached an interim trade agreement in February aimed at reducing US tariffs on Indian goods, AFP reported. Days later, the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, leaving the agreement’s implementation uncertain. The two sides have continued negotiating amid friction over India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Asked about temporary US sanctions waivers for Russian oil, Rubio said Washington had to weigh its relationships with other countries and what they could realistically do about their energy supplies. ‘You also can’t unravel the economy of other countries because of one central issue,’ he said, according to AFP.
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Sources and context
- Rubio lands in Mumbai for 3-day India visit, Jaishankar talks and Jamnagar trip on agendaTimes of India
- Rubio lands in India for 'trade diplomacy'Agence France-Presse, republished by Al-Monitor
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.