Rubio’s Visit Won’t Assuage India

The highlights this week: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrapped up a four-day visit to India aimed at repairing bilateral ties, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal leads a 100-member trade delegation to Canada , and Sri Lanka’s central bank hikes its main interest rate amid the Iran war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded a four-day trip to India on Tuesday.

At first glance, it seems like a productive trip. He held a series of high-level engagements, including meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, resulting in what Rubio described as an Indian pledge to purchase $500 billion in U.S. goods over the next five years. Rubio included a bit of cultural diplomacy in his agenda, with side visits to Kolkata, Jaipur, and the Taj Mahal in Agra. Back in New Delhi on Tuesday, he participated in a foreign minister level summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which led to a joint statement pledging cooperation in areas ranging from maritime security to critical minerals. Yet Rubio’s visit underscored a disconnect in U.S.-India relations : Washington seems to be more sanguine about the state of bilateral ties than New Delhi is, and it is not sufficiently concerned about a large trust gap between the two capitals. U.S.-India relations plunged into crisis early in U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term because of new U.S. tariffs, harsh White House criticism of India’s economy, U.S. immigration policy, anti-India rhetoric from some Trump supporters, and Trump’s embrace of Pakistan. Despite all this, the relationship has somewhat stabilized: The White House has stopped its criticism of India, and a new framework trade deal has lowered U.S. ambassador to India and a close Trump confidante, arrived in New Delhi in January seemingly on a mission to repair relations.

Key points

• At first glance, it seems like a productive trip.
• He held a series of high-level engagements, including meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, resulting in what Rubio described as an Indian pledge to purchase $500 billion in U.S.
• goods over the next five years.
• Rubio included a bit of cultural diplomacy in his agenda, with side visits to Kolkata, Jaipur, and the Taj Mahal in Agra.
• Back in New Delhi on Tuesday, he participated in a foreign minister level summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which led to a joint statement pledging cooperation in areas ranging from ma…