US Secretary of State Marco Rubio lands in Delhi ahead of Quad meeting

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached Delhi on Saturday, May 23, as part of his 4-day trip to India

Rubio is accompanied by US Ambassador Gor, US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel and other officials

This comes ahead of the Quad meeting scheduled in Delhi next week with attendees from the US, Japan, Australia and India

This is Rubio’s first official trip to India as the US seeks to reset and stabilise strained ties with India soured after Trump’s tariff policies, which raised export duties on several Indian goods, says the Associated Press

The trip marks an end to a 14-year gap since a US secretary of state last visited the city. Before this, Hillary Clinton visited Delhi in 2012

Before landing in Delhi, Rubio visited Saint Teresa’s Mother House and children’s home in Kolkata

He was welcomed by US Ambassador Sergio Gor. Gor said in a social media post that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would call on PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi later on Saturday, adding that trade, technology, defence and Quad-related issues would be discussed over the next few days

Rubio is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday

On Tuesday in New Delhi, Rubio will participate in the ministerial meeting of the Indo-pacific strategic alliance of QUAD that has repeatedly accused China of flexing its military muscles in the South China Sea and aggressively pushing its maritime territorial claims

As part of his four-day visit to India, Rubio is scheduled to visit Agra and Jaipur