Washington

TheUS is ready to sell as much energy as India is willing to buy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday, ahead of his maiden visit to New Delhi.

Rubio, interacting with reporters in Miami, described India as a “great partner” and said his visit was important as it would give him an opportunity to meet with ministers from the Quad nations.

“Well, we want to sell them as much energy as they'll buy. And obviously, you've seen I think we're at historic levels of US production, and US export,” Rubio told reporters in Miami as he embarked on the trip to Sweden and India.

Rubio will be in India from May 23-26 and will visit Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi.

“We want to be able to do more. We were already in talks with them to do more. We want them to be a bigger part of their portfolio. We also think there are opportunities with Venezuelan oil,” Rubio said.

He was responding to a question about India being affected by high energy prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Rubio described India as a "great partner" and said his visit to New Delhi was important as it would also give him an opportunity to meet with ministers from the Quad nations.

“They are a great ally, a great partner. We do a lot of good work with them. And so it is an important trip. I'm glad we're able to do it because I think there'll be a lot for us to talk about,” Rubio said.

“We'll also meet with Quad there, which is important. I think my first meeting as Secretary of State was with the Quad. I'm glad we are able to do it now in India and we're going to do one later in the year as well,” Rubio said.

Rubio said the acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez was also scheduled to visit India next week and there will be many opportunities to work with New Delhi. “In fact, it's my understanding that the interim president of Venezuela will be travelling to India next week as well. So, there's opportunities. There's a lot to work on with India,” Rubio said.

The Quad meeting is planned for May 26, and it is scheduled to be attended by Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presiding over it. Rubio’s visit to Kolkata will be the first by a US Secretary of State in almost fourteen years. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Kolkata in 2012.

The US Consulate General in Kolkata is America’s second-oldest consulate in the world.

On November 19, 1792, US President George Washington appointed Benjamin Joy of Newburyport as the first American Consul to Kolkata.

Marco Rubio’s upcoming India visit comes amid growing strategic convergence between New Delhi and Washington on trade, technology, defence, and Indo-Pacific security. The four-day trip will be his first official visit to India after taking charge as US Secretary of State.

The visit assumes significance at a time when both countries are looking to deepen economic and geopolitical cooperation amid rising global uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and tensions in key maritime trade routes.

India and the US have substantially expanded their partnership over the past decade, with cooperation spanning: Defence and military coordination , semiconductor and critical technology partnerships, energy trade, including crude oil and LNG supplies, supply chain resilience initiatives and Indo-Pacific maritime security

Energy is expected to be a major focus area during Rubio’s visit. The US has emerged as one of India’s important energy suppliers, particularly after global crude trade patterns shifted following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Washington is keen to increase exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India.

Trade issues are also likely to figure prominently in discussions. India and the US are aiming to further expand bilateral trade, which has crossed $190 billion in recent years. Both sides are exploring ways to reduce trade barriers and strengthen investment flows in sectors such as manufacturing, clean energy, and digital technology.

Rubio’s India trip is also being viewed as part of the broader US outreach to key Asian partners as Washington recalibrates its strategic priorities in the Indo-Pacific.