US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Uzbekistan and India from October 17 to 22, with enhanced energy cooperation high on the agenda, the US State Department announced on Tuesday.
Rubio will first visit Samarkand in Uzbekistan before travelling to Mumbai and Jamnagar in India, the department said. This will be his second official visit to India since May, when he attended the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting hosted by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi.
The visit and its Jamnagar angle
In India, Rubio is expected to meet senior government officials to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, exchange views on regional and global dynamics, and discuss prospects for enhanced energy cooperation. He will also meet business leaders to promote commercial investment and economic cooperation.
The Jamnagar leg is significant because the city is home to Reliance's refinery, described by officials as the world's largest single-site facility, with a capacity to process 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. In March, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would build its first refinery in 50 years with investment from Reliance Industries, with the project coming up in Brownsville, Texas, at a cost of 300 billion dollars.
Uzbekistan leg and the business delegation
In Samarkand, Rubio will participate in the C5+1 Ministerial, a diplomatic platform covering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, where he is expected to highlight how strategic cooperation promotes a more peaceful and prosperous Central Asia. A US commercial delegation comprising more than 200 business leaders will accompany the trip, signalling a push for deeper commercial ties.
The announcement follows remarks on Monday by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who highlighted growing cooperation between New Delhi and Washington across defence, information technology and healthcare, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump had spoken recently.
Sources:
US top diplomat Marco Rubio to visit India and Uzbekistan this month — Reuters
U.S. State Secretary Rubio to visit India for energy talks next week; visit to Jamnagar on cards — The Hindu
Rubio will first visit Samarkand in Uzbekistan before travelling to Mumbai and Jamnagar in India, the department said. This will be his second official visit to India since May, when he attended the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting hosted by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi.
The visit and its Jamnagar angle
In India, Rubio is expected to meet senior government officials to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, exchange views on regional and global dynamics, and discuss prospects for enhanced energy cooperation. He will also meet business leaders to promote commercial investment and economic cooperation.
The Jamnagar leg is significant because the city is home to Reliance's refinery, described by officials as the world's largest single-site facility, with a capacity to process 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. In March, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would build its first refinery in 50 years with investment from Reliance Industries, with the project coming up in Brownsville, Texas, at a cost of 300 billion dollars.
Uzbekistan leg and the business delegation
In Samarkand, Rubio will participate in the C5+1 Ministerial, a diplomatic platform covering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, where he is expected to highlight how strategic cooperation promotes a more peaceful and prosperous Central Asia. A US commercial delegation comprising more than 200 business leaders will accompany the trip, signalling a push for deeper commercial ties.
The announcement follows remarks on Monday by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who highlighted growing cooperation between New Delhi and Washington across defence, information technology and healthcare, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump had spoken recently.
Sources:
US top diplomat Marco Rubio to visit India and Uzbekistan this month — Reuters
U.S. State Secretary Rubio to visit India for energy talks next week; visit to Jamnagar on cards — The Hindu
