New Delhi: A day before arriving in New Delhi for his first official visit, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Washington wants India to buy more American oil and gas as geopolitical instability unsettles energy markets.
“We want to sell them (India) as much energy as they’ll buy. We are at historic levels of US production and export,” Rubio told reporters in Miami Thursday before departing for Sweden and India. “We want them to be a bigger part of the portfolio.”
India imports most of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime chokepoint now at the centre of the West Asia war. The uncertainty has intensified concerns in New Delhi over long-term energy security.
Rubio said the United States now has record levels of domestic oil and gas production and sees India as a critical long-term market. “There’s a lot to work on with India,” he said. “They’re a great ally, a great partner.”
He also suggested scope for greater cooperation involving Venezuelan crude, adding that interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez may also visit India next week.
“We also think there are opportunities with Venezuelan oil,” Rubio said. “In fact, it’s my understanding that the interim president of Venezuela will be traveling to India next week as well.”
The interim Venezuelan president, Delcy Rodríguez, has emerged as a key figure in rebuilding ties with Washington after US-backed forces removed Nicolas Maduro in January. Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, is seeking to revive exports to major Asian buyers, including India.
Rodríguez also has longstanding ties with India through her association with the spiritual movement of the late guru Sathya Sai Baba, and is expected to discuss energy cooperation during her visit.
Rubio’s trip to India, scheduled from 23 to 26 May, comes at a delicate moment in US-India relations after a year of diplomatic friction. “The Secretary will discuss energy security, trade, and defense cooperation during meetings with senior Indian officials,” a State Department statement of Thursday read.
Rubio is also expected to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the Quad grouping alongside External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. The talks are likely to focus on Indo-Pacific security, maritime stability and the broader economic fallout from the conflict in West Asia.
Before arriving in India, Rubio will attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden, where discussions are expected to centre on defence spending and alliance coordination ahead of the group’s summit in Turkey later this year.
Speaking about the Quad, Rubio also indicated that another meeting of the foreign ministers would be held later in the year.
On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that the Quad meeting would be held on 26 May. “At the invitation of External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, the Foreign Minister of Australia, Ms Penny Wong; the Foreign Minister of Japan, Mr Toshimitsu Motegi; and the United States Secretary of State, Mr Marco Rubio, will undertake an official visit to New Delhi to participate in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 26 May 2026,” an MEA statement said on Friday.
On 12 May, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi — this year’s host of the Quad summit—had already held several technical-level discussions. “We will also be having some high-level meetings, and we shall keep you informed of those meetings as they are about to take place,” Jaiswal said.
Rubio’s visit to Kolkata will mark the first visit to the city by a US Secretary of State in nearly 14 years. The last such visit took place in 2012, when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met then-Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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