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He spent a few hours in Jamnagar before departing for the United States.

Almost the entire Ambani family, led by billionaire Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, welcomed the US delegation. Those present included his wife, Nita Ambani, daughter Isha Ambani and her husband, Anand Piramal, and younger son Anant Ambani and his wife, Radhika Merchant, along with Reliance Industries Executive Director PMS Prasad and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor.

Akash Ambani, Mukesh Ambani's eldest son and managing director of Jio Platforms, was overseeing the opening of the telecom giant's initial public offering (IPO). Rubio arrived in Jamnagar a day after describing India as a crude-refining "superpower" and urging it to process more Venezuelan oil. Officials have described the Ambani-hosted programme as a "private visit", and neither side released details of the itinerary.

The visit comes as Washington seeks to increase sales of American energy to India, encourage the processing of Western Hemisphere crude and strengthen commercial ties with Reliance, a major buyer of internationally traded oil and a leading exporter of refined fuels. It also coincides with pressure on US diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections.

Gor said American liquefied petroleum gas had risen sharply as a share of India's imports. "Over the past year, India's imports of US LPG have surged from under 10 per cent to 67 per cent, making the United States India's largest LPG supplier," he said in a post on X. He also highlighted Reliance's planned investment in a new refinery in Texas as an opportunity to expand US energy production and create jobs.

Rubio told Reliance-owned Network18 that Washington wanted to work more closely with Reliance on refining energy from the Western Hemisphere, describing such cooperation as beneficial to both countries.