On May 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed his satisfaction at receiving him. The two leaders engaged in detailed discussions, reviewing progress in the India–US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and examining issues related to regional and international peace and security.
Prime Minister Modi restated India’s steadfast backing for peace initiatives and again urged that conflicts be resolved peacefully through dialogue and diplomatic means, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Prime Minister Modi asked Secretary Rubio to pass along his warm greetings to President Trump and expressed that he looked forward to their ongoing interactions, according to a PMO statement."Secretary Rubio briefed Prime Minister Modi on the sustained progress in bilateral cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including defence, strategic technologies, trade and investment, energy security, connectivity, education, and people-to-people ties," the Prime Minister's Office said.
Secretary Rubio also shared the US perspective on various regional and global issues, including the situation in West Asia, it added. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor was also present at the meeting and stated that Secretary Rubio had conveyed President Trump’s invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit the White House in Washington in the near future.
Rubio is set to engage in extensive discussions with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and attend the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi.He started his visit to India in Kolkata on Saturday, where he went to Mother House, the headquarters of Saint Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. Accompanied by US Ambassador Sergio Gor, Rubio was received on arrival and then met with representatives of the charitable organisation.
His visit to Kolkata was the first by a US Secretary of State in 14 years and came on the heels of a major political shift in West Bengal, where a BJP-led administration recently took power. Rubio is also the first US Secretary of State to travel to Kolkata since Hillary Clinton’s visit in May 2012.
