US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Mumbai, set to meet Jaishankar for bilateral talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday (Oct 20) for a two-day visit to India. He is accompanied by his wife, and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. Later today, bilateral talks are scheduled with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, with discussions expected to focus on India-US ties and trade. The high-level bilateral talks are being hosted at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, following a wreath-laying ceremony where Rubio paid tribute to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks at the Taj Memorial. He will also meet billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, which ​operates the world's largest refining complex at Jamnagar. This is Rubio's second visit to India.

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According to Reuters, Rubio and other officials have said in recent days that trade deal between the two nations is almost complete. Trump removed one potential stumbling block last Friday when he waived potential tariffs that would ​have punished New Delhi for the nation's extensive Russian crude oil purchases. Under legislation signed by Trump in September, the administration is ​authorised to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on the top five importers of Russian oil, which would include India, which is number two on that list after China. Trump's decision to waive all substantive provisions of that bill has upset both Democrats and Republicans who have ​pushed him to up economic pressure on Moscow for its war with Ukraine. Moreover, Trump announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to procure Russian diesel fuel for the US and global markets to help lower domestic energy prices ahead of the midterm elections.

Speaking in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, before flying on to India, Rubio linked the sanctions waiver and the trade talks. “We’re trying to finalise a trade deal with India right now. We’re very close to doing that,” he said. “That’s one of the things we take into consideration when the president makes a decision about national security waivers and things of that nature.”