Rubio Meets India's Foreign Minister in Mumbai, Says U.S.-India Trade Deal Is "Very, Very Close"
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Mumbai on October 20, with discussions centered on the U.S.-India strategic partnership, energy security and defense cooperation, according to a State Department readout of the meeting.
The meeting took place at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. Rubio arrived in Mumbai earlier in the day to begin his India visit, laid a wreath at the 26/11 attacks memorial inside the hotel, and then sat down with Jaishankar. India's foreign ministry said the talks covered key areas of bilateral cooperation including energy, trade, investment and defense. Rubio is scheduled to travel on October 21 to Jamnagar in Gujarat, home to major oil refining facilities.
A long-delayed U.S.-India trade agreement was the other focus of the trip. Rubio told reporters the two sides are "very, very close" to a deal, saying they are about as close as they can be without having executed the agreement, with only a few matters left to finalize. He said the deal would be announced and signed soon, noting that the State Department does not directly negotiate trade agreements but that he and the national security adviser are highly focused on it.
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said earlier this month that India expects to conclude the first tranche of the agreement soon, and Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said India is seeking preferential access to the U.S. market and greater tariff stability under the framework.
On energy, Rubio called India a refining superpower capable of processing heavy crude, saying India can play a bigger role as more Venezuelan oil comes online, and noting that Indian companies already hold oil and gas interests in Venezuela.
(Source: U.S. Department of State readout and press availability, and Associated Press reporting)
Related:
Rubio in News18 Interview: India Trade Deal Down to Technical Details, Weeks Not Months
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：卢比奥与印度外交部长 Jaishankar 2026年5月在 New Delhi 会面（资料图）。美国国务院官方图，摄：Freddie Everett（公共领域），自托管
