Marco Rubio begins visit to India focused on energy cooperation
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Mumbai and Jamnagar for meetings on strategic ties and energy, his second trip to India this year.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in India from 17 to 22 October 2026 for his second official visit this year. The itinerary includes Mumbai and Jamnagar after a stop in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for the C5+1 ministerial meeting with Central Asian foreign ministers.
The State Department said Rubio will meet senior Indian government officials to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, discuss regional and global issues, and explore enhanced energy cooperation. He will also meet business leaders to discuss commercial investment. Jamnagar is home to Reliance Industries' refining complex, one of the world's largest single-site facilities with capacity of about 1.4 million barrels per day.
The visit occurs as India awaits a US decision on potential waivers related to Russian oil imports. Trump waived major provisions of the Graham Act sanctions law on 16 October, removing immediate tariffs that could have applied to large buyers of Russian crude. Indian officials have noted the timing of US diesel purchases from Russia.
Rubio last visited India in May for a Quad foreign ministers meeting hosted by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Trade negotiations between the two countries remain open, with Jaishankar stating earlier that talks were approaching a landing point on some issues while others remain unresolved.
A group of US lawmakers wrote to Rubio before the trip urging him to raise the handling of protests by the Citizen Rights Protection movement with Indian authorities. The letter focused on containment measures during demonstrations in New Delhi.
Rubio is leading a US commercial delegation of more than 200 business leaders on the Uzbekistan leg of the trip. In India the focus remains on bilateral energy and investment discussions rather than a formal trade deal announcement.
No public schedule of specific meetings with individual Indian ministers beyond the general description has been released by either government as of 17 October morning.
