US Secretary of State Rubio on second India visit this year, to focus on Mumbai and Jamnagar
Marco Rubio is touring India and Central Asia from October 17 to 22 with a delegation of more than 200 American business leaders.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on a tour of India and Central Asia from October 17 to 22. It is his second visit to India this year, which has given the trip added significance for international diplomacy. The visit comes as strategic and economic ties between India and the US grow stronger by the day.
Rubio will not hold only policy talks. He is also leading a large business delegation to help turn trade agreements between India and the US into reality. The delegation includes more than 200 top American entrepreneurs and business leaders. It is laying the groundwork for new investments worth billions of dollars in Central Asia and India.
Rubio began the tour in Uzbekistan, where he took part in the "C5+1" ministerial conference in the historic city of Samarkand. The main aim of the US behind the forum is to expand strategic cooperation with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, strengthen regional security and create new opportunities for economic development.
Rubio travels to India after the Central Asia talks. The most notable feature of the visit is that, besides political meetings in New Delhi, his main focus will be on two major economic and industrial cities, Mumbai and Jamnagar. The strategy is being widely discussed in diplomatic circles.
Mumbai is India's financial capital and a hub of financial services. Major investment decisions in global banking, capital markets, venture capital and technology are taken in the city. In Mumbai, Rubio, along with the delegation of more than 200 businesspeople who have come with him, will interact directly with Indian industrialists and chief executive officers (CEOs). The main agenda of the Mumbai leg is to increase bilateral trade between India and the US, exchange technology and bring American capital into infrastructure.
The choice of Jamnagar in Gujarat has surprised many. Jamnagar is known as the largest petrochemical and refining complex not only in India but in the world. Given developments in the global energy market, green energy technology and the future needs of hydrogen fuel, Jamnagar has great strategic importance.
The energy partnership between the US and India (the US-India Energy Dialogue) is now moving beyond conventional oil towards renewable energy and clean energy technology. Rubio and his delegation will visit large energy projects in Jamnagar and hold in-depth discussions on expanding cooperation in the energy sector, strengthening the supply chain and future energy security.
Experts say the visit is timely given upheaval in the global economy, security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and changes in global supply chains. They have expressed confidence that it will give fresh momentum to trade agreements between the two countries and further strengthen the strategic partnership. By visiting centres of industry, the US has clearly signalled that it wants to give a new direction to its economic ties with India.
