Washington, May 27 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio used his four-day India visit to deepen Quad cooperation and reassure New Delhi that the Trump administration continues to view the Indo-Pacific as a strategic priority, analysts and business leaders told IANS.
The visit, Rubio’s first to India as Secretary of State, included meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, along with participation in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
Dr Vivek Lall, Chief Executive of General Atomics Global Corporation, described the visit as “a very timely visit.”
“I think it’s an outstanding opportunity to see both countries again in strategic dialogue and laying out a strategic vision,” Lall told IANS.
He said the relationship had reached “an inflection point” and pointed to growing defence cooperation, foundational agreements and military-to-military exercises.
“The relationship is very strategic,” Lall said, adding that there was significant potential for further collaboration in defence and space.
On the Quad, Lall said the grouping was regaining momentum. Quad comprises of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
“The fact that we have that impetus back into the Quad and with some really specific deliverables that the Quad has assumed over the years, I think that’ll again get a lot of impetus and focus,” he said.
He added that “common operating picture,” surveillance and security cooperation remained important elements of the Quad partnership.
Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO of the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said Rubio’s trip underscored the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific in Washington’s geopolitical calculations.
“Secretary Rubio’s visit to India for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting underscores the growing strategic convergence in the Indo-Pacific as a key region for the administration’s geopolitical priorities,” Aghi told IANS.
“Important to remember, that his first engagement as Secretary of State, was a convening of the Quad Foreign Minister’s meetings,” he added.
According to Aghi, the Quad partnership is now moving beyond diplomatic symbolism into deeper strategic and economic coordination.
“As the Quad deepens cooperation on maritime security, critical minerals, energy, resilient supply chains, and emerging technologies, the US-India partnership remains central to advancing a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” he said in response to a question.
Aghi said initiatives such as the “Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework” and the “Indo-Pacific Energy Security Initiative” could create opportunities for stronger private-sector integration and more resilient supply chains.
“The Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration underscores the economic and strategic stability of the region and upholds the sacrosanctity of a rules-based international order,” he said.
Aparna Pande, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, described the visit as important “both symbolically and substantively.”
“For India, the visit by one of the seniormost cabinet members of the second Trump administration, and a long-time champion of India-US ties, demonstrates that India remains strategically important to the US,” she told IANS.
Pande also highlighted the significance of India hosting the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
“India hosting the first Quad Foreign Ministers summit – outside of the US – makes for great optics,” she said.
According to Pande, Rubio’s objective was to reassure India that the Indo-Pacific remains central to American strategy despite competing crises elsewhere.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who accompanied Rubio during the visit, described the meetings as “productive” in a post on X. He said the delegation travelled through Kolkata, New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur before concluding the visit with “a highly successful Quad meeting.”
The Quad has emerged as one of the central pillars of Indo-Pacific diplomacy in recent years, while India-US defence and technology ties have accelerated through joint military exercises, semiconductor cooperation, critical minerals initiatives and growing collaboration in emerging technologies.
–IANS
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