Marco Rubio to skip Delhi, visit Mumbai and Jamnagar next week

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio | Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to India for his second visit in six months, with energy and trade relations on the top of the agenda as he visits Mumbai and Jamnagar, the U.S. Department of State announced on Wednesday (Octobre 14, 2026).

However, Mr. Rubio, who is expected to visit India from October 19 to 22 after travelling to Samarkand in Uzbekistan for a regional conference, will skip Delhi. 

“[Mr. Rubio] will meet with senior government officials to strengthen the U.S.-India strategic partnership, exchange views on regional and global dynamics, and discuss prospects for enhanced energy cooperation,” the State department said in the statement, adding that Mr. Rubio will also meet business leaders to “promote investment opportunities”. 

Mr. Rubio’s agenda visit to Jamnagar is important as it hosts the world’s largest single-site refinery, operated by Reliance industries, and is expected to include a major reception hosted by the Ambani family. The visit would follow just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump is mandated by the U.S. Congress to propose extra tariffs as sanctions on India and other countries buying Russian oil, under the Sanctions Against Russian and Iran Act (SRIA) passed into law last month. The Jamnagar refinery is one of the top three companies refining Russian Ural crude oil, although it has reduced its share of the imports.