Kolkata, May 23 (PTI) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Kolkata on Saturday on a four-day diplomatic tour to India, with the city marking the opening stop of a visit that carries great political and historical resonance.
His arrival in the eastern city ended a 14-year hiatus since the US Secretary of State last visited the city, just weeks after West Bengal witnessed a historic political shift with a BJP-led government coming to power.
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Rubio became the first US Secretary of State to set foot in Kolkata since Hillary Clinton visited the city in May 2012.
The US State Department said that Rubio will visit Mother House, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Saint Teresa of Charity in central Kolkata, and the Children’s Home in the city.
Rubio’s India itinerary, scheduled for May 23-26, which also includes Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi, is seen as being of diplomatic importance for his scheduled energy talks with India and meeting with ministers from the Quad countries.
“Well, we want to sell them as much energy as they buy,” Rubio told reporters in Miami before embarking on a trip to Sweden and India. “And obviously, as you’ve seen, I think we’ve reached historic levels of American production and American exports.”
In response to a question about India being affected by the rise in energy prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio described India as a “great partner” and said that he looked forward to meeting with ministers from the Quad countries.
The Quad meeting is scheduled for May 26, and is scheduled to be attended by Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, and chaired by Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
