Rubio arrives in India to hold talks with Indian counterpart

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday arrived in the Indian financial city of Mumbai, as he began a two-day visit to India.

Rubio is expected to hold talks with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on a range of issues, including strategic partnership.

"The visit provides an opportunity to further advance cooperation across the various pillars of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal wrote on US social media platform X.

"Great to be back in Mumbai, this time with my friend (Secretary Rubio)," US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor wrote on X.

"Looking forward to a productive visit and to advancing U.S.-India ties," he added.

The talks between the two top diplomats are expected to "cover key aspects of the India-US strategic partnership, economic cooperation, regional stability and energy security," public broadcaster All India Radio said on Tuesday.

During his visit, Rubio is also expected to tour the world's largest single-site refinery in Jamnagar, in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Ahead of the trip, Rubio said Monday that Washington was "very close" to finalizing a trade agreement with India.

"We're trying to finalize a trade deal with India right now. We're very close to doing that," Rubio said in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.