Rubio meets India’s foreign minister

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday to push for closer energy cooperation and to move toward finalizing a long-stalled trade agreement. The talks focused on reviving negotiations slowed by U.S. tariffs and New Delhi’s continued purchases of discounted Russian crude. Rubio said the negotiations were “very close,” with only a small number of items left to resolve before an agreement could be executed. Jaishankar emphasized strengthening bilateral ties across trade, energy, technology and defense, and noted that regional developments would also be on the agenda. The meeting included a trilateral session with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss regional energy security and shared economic priorities. Washington previously imposed tariffs of up to 50% on many Indian goods in August 2025 after talks broke down; a framework later reduced them to 18%, but negotiations have since plateaued. India argues for a final tariff rate similar to competing manufacturing nations such as Vietnam. India’s discounted Russian oil purchases have strained ties, though New Delhi says it will expand energy imports and diversify suppliers to keep prices stable. Defense and technology ties continue to deepen, with the United States viewing India as a counterweight to China. Rubio is slated to visit the Jamnagar refinery of Reliance Industries and meet business leaders, and notes that Reliance’s related investments were highlighted in March by U.S. President Trump.