Visiting US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Saturday invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House again, at a time the US remains non-committal on a Donald Trump trip to India for the long-delayed Quad Summit.
US ambassador Sergio Gor said Rubio had issued the invitation when he met Modi here in the afternoon. There was, however, no reference to the invite in the Indian readout.
Earlier, Rubio had touched down in Calcutta on a “private visit” in the morning, visited Mother House, prayed at the tomb of Mother Teresa and gifted teddy bears to children at Nirmala Shishu Bhavan. He then flew to New Delhi.
In Delhi, Rubio said “some progress” had been made on Iran and that the US might have “something to say” on the matter sometime “later today, tomorrow, (or) in a couple days”.
“News! Secretary Marco Rubio extended an invite on behalf of President Donald Trump, for Prime Minister Modi to visit the White House in the near future!” Gor posted on X, breaking the news as has been his wont since he took up the assignment at Roosevelt House in January.
After the meeting, Modi said on X: “Happy to receive the US Secretary of State, Mr Marco Rubio. We discussed sustained progress in the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and issues related to regional and global peace and security. India and the United States will continue to work closely for the global good.”
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said: “Secretary Rubio briefed Prime Minister Modi 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.”
Rubio shared the US perspective on various regional and global issues, including the situation in West Asia, it said.
It added that Modi reaffirmed India’s consistent support for peace efforts and reiterated the call for peaceful resolution of the conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy.
“Prime Minister Modi requested Secretary Rubio to convey his warm greetings to President Trump and said that he looked forward to their continued exchanges,”
the PMO said.
Rubio, who had before the trip said the US wanted to sell India energy, pressed his case and told Modi that “US energy products have the potential to diversify India’s energy supply”, according to a US summary of the meeting, Reuters reported.
Gor tweeted: “Great to join @SecRubio for a meeting with Prime Minister @narendramodi. We had a productive discussion on ways to deepen U.S.-India cooperation across security, trade, and critical technologies — areas that strengthen both our nations and advance a free and open Indo-Pacific. India is a vital partner to the United States!”
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval too were present at the meeting.
Apart from discussing energy cooperation and the West Asia conflict, Rubio is also likely to have flagged the cancellation of the FCRA registrations — which allow an organisation to receive and spend foreign funds — of several civil society and missionary organisations.
Later, addressing an embassy event, Rubio said: “We had a very productive meeting today, and I believe the rest of this visit will also be highly productive.”
He continued: “India is at the cornerstone of how the United States approaches the Indo-Pacific, not just through the Quad but also bilaterally. This is reflected in the $20 billion invested by Indian companies in the United States, as well as India’s signing of the Pax Silica initiative.
“It is also evident in the many opportunities we have to explore between our two advanced economies. I know there is significant interest from the corporate sector in the United States.”
The visit comes at a time India-US ties have lost the momentum of the past two decades that was powered by bipartisan support for the relationship in Washington.
After a positive start in the early days of the second Trump administration, the relationship has gone through a lengthy rough patch over the President’s repeated claims of having brokered peace between India and Pakistan, and the hefty tariffs he slapped on India.
Trump was to have visited India last year to attend the Quad Summit that New Delhi was to have hosted. Since that visit is yet to materialise, the Quad leaders’ meeting has been indefinitely delayed.
Another round of the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting is scheduled for Tuesday in New Delhi to coincide with Rubio’s visit.
On Saturday, Rubio “shared his appreciation for India hosting the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting”, his office said in a statement which did not refer to India’s entreaties for Trump to take part.
Modi has already travelled to the US once during the second Trump administration, the February 2025 visit coming barely a month into the President assuming office for the second time.
The outward bonhomie during that visit matched the India-US dynamic of the first Trump tenure.
On Sunday, Rubio is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Jaishankar.
He is to travel to Agra and Jaipur on Monday before returning to Delhi on Tuesday morning for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting.