Rubio says India has made substantial progress diversifying energy supplies
The US secretary of state praised India’s efforts to broaden its energy sources during a Mumbai visit and said a US-India trade agreement was close but still unsigned.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Mumbai on October 20 that India had made substantial progress diversifying its energy supplies, including away from Russia, according to AFP. His assessment matters as Washington seeks a larger role in supplying India’s energy needs while the two countries work toward a trade agreement.
Rubio said India had repeatedly expressed a desire to diversify its energy portfolio, calling that a smart move. He acknowledged that changing suppliers could not happen ‘from one day to the next’ and said the United States was pleased with the progress he described. AFP did not provide a measure of how much India’s oil purchases have changed.
US energy ambitions and India’s refining industry
Rubio said the United States could supply some of India’s energy inputs. He called India a ‘refining superpower’; the country is a major oil importer, and Russian crude has been an important part of its supply. His comments described an opening for US energy sales, without setting out a purchase commitment.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said that broadly diversifying the country’s energy policy would strengthen energy security. Its stated areas of focus include biofuels, compressed biogas, green hydrogen, solar and wind power. That broader policy provides context for India’s interest in multiple energy sources, but the ministry statement does not measure the recent oil-purchasing shift Rubio described.
Where the US-India trade agreement stands
Rubio also said the United States and India were ‘about as close as you can be’ to a trade agreement without an executed deal. A small number of items remained to be resolved, he said. He hoped for an announcement soon and suggested the countries’ leaders could sign an agreement afterward; he gave no signing date.
The countries reached an interim agreement in February intended to reduce US tariffs on Indian goods, AFP reported. The US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs days later, leaving uncertainty about when that agreement would take effect. Negotiations continued amid that uncertainty.
Rubio’s Mumbai remarks added the assessment of India’s energy diversification to his earlier comments that the trade talks were close. His position on the deal remained prospective: the remaining issues had yet to be settled and no agreement had been executed.
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Sources and context
- Rubio says India made ‘substantial progress’ in diversifying oil purchasesThe Straits Times (AFP)
- India's broad diversification of its energy policy will help facilitate enhanced energy securityMinistry of External Affairs, Government of India
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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