Marco Rubio cited the need to have a “free and open” Indo-Pacific where no nation can claim dominance or ownership on international shipping as among the core issues of alignment.
Mumbai:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said there is an “extraordinary alignment” between India and the US on the core issues that matter even though there can be disagreements on some others.
Speaking at the ‘Freedom 250’ reception here during his two-day visit to India, Rubio cited the need to have a “free and open” Indo-Pacific where no nation can claim dominance or ownership on international shipping as among the core issues of alignment.
“Of course there will be times and points of disagreement, but on the core issues that matter, the core issues that define the national interest of both India and the United States, the alignment between our countries is extraordinary, especially for two countries of this size,” Rubio, who is on a second visit to the country in three months, said.
Stating that he does not visit the country as often as he should, Rubio said this region will define how the history of the 21st century is written.
“I truly believe the relationship between the United States and India is defining in many ways, in a positive way, what the 21st century can look like,” he said.
India is a “powerful, influential and advanced” country, and a “strong geopolitical partner” for the US, he said.
Both countries have a lot in common, including shared values of upholding the dignity of the individual, democratic principles and rule of law, Rubio said.
“We can take the things that made America exceptional as a nation and share it in partnership with friends like you,” Rubio said.
After many years of growing warmth, relations between India and the US seem to have hit a rough patch lately with trade ties, New Delhi’s preference to buy cheaper Russian oil, and immigration being the challenging aspects.
US President Donald Trump feels US exports to India attract a lot higher duties than the Indian exports into his country leading to the tariff moves, while his administration has also got a law enacted to slap penal tariffs on countries importing Russian oil and on immigration, a slew of measures have been attempted to help local jobseekers in the US.
Addressing the audience comprising business leaders and eminent people from different walks of life, Rubio said the administration is taking decisions that will have far-reaching consequences.
“The truth of the matter is that we are making decisions now in geopolitics and economics and trade and in commerce that will impact people that have not even been born, that will define the world in ways we cannot even fully comprehend or appreciate,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Rubio said India and the US are “very, very close” to signing a bilateral trade deal, with only a few points to be ironed out.
Rubio, who landed in the financial capital on Tuesday afternoon, is scheduled to visit Reliance Industries’ petrochemicals refinery at Gujarat’s Jamnagar on Wednesday.
He is also scheduled to meet business leaders, including Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani in Mumbai.
