The bilateral relations between India and the United States “have not lost momentum”, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday (May 24, 2026), adding that hopes are high on sealing the bilateral trade deal “soon”.
Mr. Rubio, on the second day of his visit to India, held talks with Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and described his time in the country so far as “fantastic”. His visit comes during an economic and diplomatic downturn between the United States and India, strained largely by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies that raised duties on several Indian exports.
Also read: The parallel track that keeps U.S.-India ties going
Mr. Rubio arrived on Saturday (May 23, 2026) on his first official visit to India ahead of a meeting set for Tuesday (May 26) with his counterparts from India, Australia and Japan, which are members of the Indo-Pacific strategic alliance known as the Quad.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during a high-level diplomatic meeting in New Delhi.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Sunday (May 24, 2026) outlined India’s five-point approach on key regional and global issues, stressing that New Delhi advocates dialogue and diplomacy for conflict resolution, supports uninterrupted maritime commerce, and strongly opposes the weaponisation of trade and resources.
Jaishankar emphasizes India's five-point strategy for global issues during talks with Rubio, highlighting dialogue, maritime trade, and strategic partnerships.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar further said that he discussed civil nuclear cooperation with his American counterpart, adding: “Secretary Rubio and I welcomed recent cooperation between India and the U.S. in the energy sector.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and EAM S. Jaishankar held high-level talks on Sunday (May 24).
After the meeting, which included deliberations on the West Asia conflict, Mr. Jaishankar said that India is for “unimpeded” maritime commerce.
“We discussed the situation in West Asia, Indian subcontinent and East Asia,” Mr. Jaishankar said.
Mr. Rubio said the U.S. hopes to seal a bilateral trade with India “soon”.
Earlier in the week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said the U.S. team is likely to visit India next month for trade talks with their counterparts in New Delhi.
The Indian side visited Washington, DC, in April for an in-person round of meetings with their U.S. counterparts to finalise the details of the interim pact and take forward the negotiations under the broader bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
U.S. team may visit India next month for trade talks, focusing on technology, defense, and medical device collaborations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday (May 24) said that India-U.S. relations “have not lost momentum”. His remarks came after his meeting with EAM Jaishankar.
The bilateral ties will come out much stronger in the coming years, Mr. Rubio said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that some progress has been made in past 48 hours on an outline that could resolve the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz situation. He said that he believes more news on the Iran war, albeit not final news, could come today. He reiterated that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, and said that no President has been proactive about the issue of Iran’s nuclear weapons like Donald Trump.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, in his opening remarks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at New Delhi’s Hyderabad House, said that he is looking forward and is confident of holding “open and productive discussions”.
Jaishankar expresses confidence in productive discussions with Rubio, highlighting strong US-India partnership and cooperation on key global issues.
“India and U.S. are strategically aligned on almost all key global issues,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a joint press conference with EAM Jaishankar. He said that India is one of the countries with global influence. He also said that India and U.S. are “strategically aligned” on energy matters.
“We have a strategic partnership which emenates from a concern of national interests in various areas,” Jaishankar said during a joint press conference with Marco Rubio. He said that the upcoming discussions with Mr. Rubio will feature the developments in West Asia and Ukraine. The Minister said that they discussed concluding the final text of the India-U.S. interim trade agreement. He said that he expects a U.S. delegation to visit India soon for this purpose.
Published - May 24, 2026 12:54 pm IST
Live news / India / USA / diplomacy
Source: The Hindu - India News
