Overview
- Marco Rubio is mid‑way through a four‑day visit to India and spent Monday visiting the Taj Mahal and Jaipur’s Amber Fort as part of a public diplomacy push before the Quad foreign ministers meeting on May 26.
- Rubio held high‑level talks in New Delhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and said the two countries remain strategically aligned with optimism about a broader trade deal.
- At a joint news event Rubio defended the United States as a welcoming country and said 'every country has stupid people' when asked about racist remarks targeting Indians, an exchange the U.S. State Department later removed from its X account.
- Rubio acknowledged India’s long‑standing concern about armed groups operating from Pakistani territory and said Pakistan’s reported role as a mediator in U.S.‑Iran talks did not arise in bilateral discussions.
- He said diplomacy with Iran is 'still in progress' and that the U.S. will give talks every chance before exploring other options, a stance that frames his India meetings and sets the agenda for the upcoming Quad session.