Delhi, Dosti, Diplomacy: PM Modi, Marco Rubio Hold Talks for 1 Hour—What Was Discussed?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday after arriving for his first official visit to India, a trip aimed at recalibrating the bilateral relations that have faced headwinds since mid-last year. During the hour-long meeting, Rubio briefed Prime Minister on the sustained progress in bilateral cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including defence, strategic technologies, trade and investment, energy security, connectivity, education and people-to-people ties. According to an official release by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Secretary Rubio shared the US perspective on various regional and global issues, including the situation in West Asia. During the meeting, PM Modi reaffirmed India’s

consistent support for peace efforts and reiterated the call for peaceful resolution of the conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy.The prime minister requested Secretary Rubio convey his warm greetings to President Trump and said that he looked forward to their continued exchanges. An invitiation was also extended to PM Modi to visit the White House in near future.

India-US attempt to strengthen bilateral ties

The top US diplomat is also scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in addition to attending a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers in New Delhi.US Ambassador Sergio Gor, welcoming the Secretary of State, outlined a forward-looking agenda aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. He underlined the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Washington's focus on realising President Trump's strategic vision for a stronger US-India partnership.The Secretary of State will travel to Agra and Jaipur on Monday before returning to Delhi on Tuesday morning for the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.Ways to bolster India-US ties in energy, trade, investment, critical technology and people-to-people exchanges are likely to dominate the talks between Jaishankar and Rubio, people familiar with the matter said.The two sides are also expected to deliberate on the West Asia crisis and its economic impact, including on energy supplies, they said.Rubio's trip to India comes over five weeks after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri undertook a three-day visit to Washington DC that focused on stabilising the ties after a spell of uncertainty and strain.The relations between the two countries witnessed a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India and President Donald Trump made controversial assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan military clashes last May.(With PTI inputs)