India on Friday said that the Quad Foreign ministers meeting will take place on May 26, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India for the meeting.
The Ministry of External Affairs said, “At the invitation of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the Foreign Minister of Australia, Penny Wong; the Foreign Minister of Japan, Toshimitsu Motegi; and the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will undertake an official visit to New Delhi to participate in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 26 May 2026.”
“In keeping with the Quad vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, the Ministers will build on discussions held in Washington, D.C. on 1 July 2025. They will exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern,” it said.
During their visit to New Delhi, the Foreign Ministers of Australia and Japan, and the United States Secretary of State are also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the External Affairs Minister and call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be visiting India from May 23 to 26, in what will be his first visit to the country as the US Secretary of State and NSA.
According to a statement from US State Department spokesperson, Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, “Secretary Rubio will travel to India from May 23-26, where he will visit Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur, and New Delhi”.
“The Secretary will discuss energy security, trade, and defense cooperation during meetings with senior Indian officials,” the statement said.
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Rubio, ahead of the visit, said that the US is ready to sell as much energy as India is willing to buy.
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.
“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.
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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.
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“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.
However, Rodriquez’s visit has not been officially announced, and officials said that she was supposed to come for the International Big Cat Alliance summit. But the summit has been cancelled now because of the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
During the visit, Rubio is likely to attend the 250th year celebrations of American Independence in Delhi. While his Delhi visit was known, addition of Kolkata, Agra and Jaipur are new stops in the itinerary.
This signals incremental progress in bilateral ties between India and the US, as Rubio visits India for the meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers. This will pave the way for Quad leaders’ summit later this year.
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If the summit takes place, it will work towards eliminating the shadow cast on Indo-US ties as well as the future of the Quad grouping ever since US President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India and prohibitive costs on new H-1B visa applications.
The tariffs were removed after the two sides agreed on a trade deal early February this year. Now, the two sides are also looking at an Indian delegation going to the US to finalise the trade agreement.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been in touch with US Secretary of State Rubio. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also met Rubio during his visit to Washington DC last month.
Rubio’s visit to India, the first by the US Secretary of State and NSA from the Trump administration, was disclosed by Sergio Gor, the US Ambassador to India last month, who was in the meeting between Foreign Secretary Misri and Rubio in Washington DC.
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After the meeting, Gor, in a post on X, had said, “Welcome to the White House @VikramMisri! Productive meeting with @SecRubio that focused on our bilateral relationship, especially trade, critical minerals, defense and the Quad. Secretary Rubio looks forward to visiting India next month!”
Last month, Gor had said the focus now is on Rubio’s trip. “The Secretary (Rubio) is coming here next month, which we’re very excited by… He doesn’t just show up. We actually have some incredible deals that we’re hoping to finalise in time for his visit at the end of May,” he said.
He said the US is also looking forward to a Quad ministerial meeting. “We’re very much looking forward to having a ministerial Quad meeting here in India. This is also the Secretary’s first visit to India. So he’s very excited to come, not only to Delhi, but also to visit other places,” he said.
“India is vitally important to us. It’s an incredible partner and the President also has an incredible relationship with your Prime Minister… If you look at Secretary Rubio, he does not travel because he’s full-time at the White House also. So the fact that he is coming over here shows the level of importance that the United States gives to India,” he said.
