Why Marco Rubio’s Visit To Kolkata American Consulate, One Of The Oldest US Missions In World, Will Be Special

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is officially visiting Kolkata as part of his inaugural four-day tour of India from May 23 to 26.
The US Department of State confirmed that Rubio’s itinerary will take him to Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur, and New Delhi. The visit carries immense historical significance because the US Consulate in Kolkata is the oldest American diplomatic mission in India and one of the oldest operating U.S. consulates in the world.

Rubio’s India Tour

Rubio will meet senior Indian officials to deliberate on crucial matters regarding energy security, regional trade, tariffs, and defense cooperation. On May 26, Rubio will join Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu

in New Delhi for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting.

The stop in Kolkata underscores the growing geopolitical importance of eastern and northeastern India in global trade and the broader Indo-Pacific strategy.
The trip also marks the beginning of joint celebrations with the U.S. Embassy in India commemorating 250 years of America.

The Kolkata Consulate

Kolkata has a preeminent place in the history of American diplomacy as one of the oldest American Consulates anywhere in the world, and the oldest in India.
President George Washington, on November 19, 1792, nominated Benjamin Joy of Newbury Port as the first American Consul to Kolkata. With advice from Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, later the third U.S. President, and Senate approval, President Washington appointed Joy to the office on November 21, 1792.
Joy, however, reached Kolkata only in April 1794. He was never recognized as Consul by the British East India Company but was permitted to “reside here as a Commercial Agent subject to the Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction of this Country…”.
Despite this rather inauspicious beginning, Benjamin Joy’s arrival was the beginning of a long official American relationship with Kolkata – and, indeed, with all of India.