Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 23 (ANI): United States Secretary Marco Rubio alongwith his wife Jeanette D Rubio, on Saturday departed from Kolkata for Delhi, where he will have talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor is also travelling with Secretary Rubio.

Before departing Kolkata, Secretary Rubio interacted with officers as well as the airport staff and posed for group photographs, according to officials present at the airport.

The visit to Kolkata included a stop at the Missionaries of Charity, where Rubio spent time at the Mother House. Sister Concettina, the Secretary General of the Missionaries of Charity, described the visit as deeply personal and reflective.

She said, 'It was his initiative to come to the Mother House, and it was a joy for us to welcome him because he wanted to receive blessings at Mother's tomb. We prayed together, and that is about all. Nothing else really happened... It was just like a family get-together.'

Earlier, Gor said in a post on X that US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel is part of the travelling delegation.

https://x.com/USAmbIndia/status/2058037218862641476

He said, 'Travelling with Secretary Rubio is our dear friend Robert Gabriel! Glad to welcome him back to India!'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Kolkata on Saturday morning, marking the first visit by a top American diplomat to the eastern metropolis in 14 years.

The brief stopover serves as the opening leg of a high-stakes, four-day India tour.

The visit assumes significance amid growing strategic convergence between the two countries and comes ahead of the upcoming QUAD foreign ministers' meeting scheduled to be held in New Delhi on May 26.

The announcement regarding Rubio's arrival was made by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor through a post on X. He stated that Rubio would later travel to New Delhi to hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Indian leaders.

In a post on X, he said, 'Secretary Marco Rubio has landed in Kolkata. This is his first trip to India. Later today, we will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Trade, Technology, Defence, QUAD, and many other items to discuss and advance over the next few days!'

According to the US ambassador, the upcoming engagements will primarily focus on strengthening cooperation in key strategic sectors, including defence partnerships, advanced technologies, trade ties and collaboration under the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) framework.

Setting a highly collaborative stage for this key visit, Marco Rubio had earlier on Thursday announced Washington's keenness to significantly scale up energy partnerships with India, declaring that the United States is prepared to supply 'as much energy' as New Delhi is willing to buy.

Interacting with the media in Miami before he departed for Sweden and India, Rubio indicated that the US has already initiated high-level talks with Indian authorities to boost energy exports, a development propelled by American oil and gas production hitting historic highs.

To anchor this economic agenda, Rubio underscored that Washington aims to embed itself more deeply into India's diversified energy matrix, whilst hinting at the possibility of collaborative arrangements involving Venezuelan crude provisions.

The top American diplomat is undertaking this official tour of India from May 23 to 26, with a packed itinerary covering Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur, and New Delhi. The high-level engagements during the visit are anticipated to primarily centre around trade dynamics, energy security, and defence cooperation.

These remarks came directly against the backdrop of queries regarding the economic pressures India navigates due to volatile global fuel pricing and maritime logistical vulnerabilities stemming from recent instabilities surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.

In a major diplomatic deployment matching this regional focus, India is gearing up to host the foreign ministers of the QUAD nations in the national capital to deliberate on the evolving security matrix of the Indo-Pacific and the escalating friction points across West Asia. The high-level congregation of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue--bringing together India, the United States, Australia, and Japan--is locked in for May 26 under the chairmanship of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. (ANI)