New York, Jun 5: The US said its strategic partnership with India remains robust and that President Donald Trump’s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Washington is a “testament” to the “great relationship” between the two leaders as well as the growing ties between the two countries.
State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Thursday said the strong ties between the two countries were on full display during Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent visit to India.
“We have a robust strategic partnership with India… That was on full display during that trip, and there were real deliverables that were discussed there, including on critical minerals, including on technology,” he said.
Pigott was responding to a question by PTI on Rubio’s visit to India during a roundtable interaction organised by the New York Foreign Press Centre with a select group of international journalists.
Rubio visited Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi from May 23 to 26 and participated in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Responding to a question on when a Quad Leaders’ summit could happen and a possible meeting between Modi and Trump, Pigott referred to the White House for any such timing and announcement.
However, he noted that Rubio personally conveyed Trump’s invitation to Modi during the visit.
“One of the things that happened in the trip was that Secretary (Rubio) personally delivered President Trump’s invitation to (PM) Modi to come to Washington,” Pigott said.
“That’s a testament to the great relationship between President Trump and Modi, but also the great relationship and the strategic partnership we have between our two nations,” he added.
Describing the Quad as an “important context” of the US-India relationship, Pigott recalled that the first meeting Rubio hosted after assuming office in January 2025 was the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Washington.
He said the bloc comprising the US, India, Australia, and Japan is evolving into an “action-oriented” forum, and there were “clear deliverables” from that as well during Rubio’s visit to India.
Pigott pointed to outcomes announced during the visit, including cooperation on modernising ports, strengthening supply chains and enhancing maritime security cooperation against piracy and other illegal activities.
“It’s also an important part of the bilateral relationship as well. We’ve seen recent actions from the United States that I think reflect our growing strategic partnership with India on combating a lot of these multinational, international illegal groups, crime groups, making sure that we’re addressing those as well,” he said.
Referring to Rubio’s India visit, Pigott said it was a trip the Secretary “enjoyed immensely” and one that yielded several concrete outcomes.
“I think it’s a continuation of the priority that was evident from day one,” he said.
Rubio met Modi shortly after arriving in New Delhi and, on behalf of Trump, invited the Prime Minister to visit the White House in the near future. The US Secretary of State described India as the “cornerstone” of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
In a social media post after the meeting, Rubio had said he and PM Modi discussed the situation in the Middle East, energy cooperation, securing critical supply chains and collaboration in emerging technologies.
He also said, “I was pleased to invite Prime Minister Modi to the White House on behalf of the President.”
The Quad joint statement issued after the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi announced the Quad Critical Minerals Framework aimed at advancing a vision for fair and diversified critical minerals markets.
The framework seeks to strengthen critical minerals supply chains, including mining, processing and recycling, through coordinated policy measures and investment cooperation among Quad partners. (PTI)
