Marco Rubio's India visit: Energy cooperation, Jamnagar refinery visit on cards during 5-day trip

Amid strains in India-US ties, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to India next week in a fresh push to strengthen energy cooperation, the Department of State said on Tuesday. Rubio will depart on Saturday for a five-day visit to Uzbekistan and India.

He will first travel to Samarkand before visiting Mumbai and Jamnagar as part of his October 17-22 itinerary. The visit will include meetings with senior government officials and business leaders in India, as well as the C5+1 Ministerial and bilateral engagements in Uzbekistan.

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Energy cooperation in focus during India visit

This will be Rubio’s second visit to India since May, when he attended the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi.

“He will meet with senior government officials to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, exchange views on regional and global dynamics, and discuss prospects for enhanced energy cooperation,” the State Department said.

Rubio will also meet business leaders to promote opportunities for commercial investment and economic cooperation, it added.

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Jamnagar refinery visit gains significance

Rubio’s visit to Jamnagar is significant as the city is home to Reliance’s refinery, the world’s largest single-site facility, with a capacity to process 1.4 million barrels of crude oil a day.

In March, President Donald Trump announced that the US would build its first refinery in 50 years with investment from Reliance Industries. Trump said the refinery would be built at Brownsville in Texas at a cost of $300 billion.

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Visit comes amid strains in India-US ties

The visit comes after Indian and American officials indicated earlier this month that long-running efforts to finalise a bilateral trade agreement had stalled again.

India-US ties have faced strains over issues including Trump’s repeated claim that he brokered an India-Pakistan ceasefire and a US military attack on a ship off Oman that killed three Indian seafarers.

New Delhi has also raised concerns over US legislation allowing Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries purchasing Russian energy. The legislation is part of Washington’s efforts to pressure Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

India briefly reduced its purchases from Russia in early 2026, but imports have since risen, particularly after the supply shock that followed the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The announcement of Rubio’s visit also comes amid protests in India over the removal of 130 million voters from electoral rolls. Washington has so far not commented on the demonstrations.

Rubio to attend C5+1 Ministerial in Samarkand

In Samarkand, Rubio will participate in the C5+1 Ministerial to highlight how strategic cooperation through the diplomatic platform promotes a more peaceful and prosperous future for the United States and Central Asian countries.

He will also hold bilateral engagements with senior officials from all five C5 countries — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Kyrgyz Republic.

A US commercial delegation comprising more than 200 business leaders will accompany Rubio. The State Department said the delegation would help usher in a new era of stronger commercial cooperation between the United States and Central Asia.

Rubio’s five-day trip will therefore focus on energy, investment and strategic ties during meetings in Mumbai and Jamnagar, while his engagements in Samarkand will centre on diplomatic and commercial cooperation with Central Asian countries.

(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)