Rubio arrives in India ahead of Quad talks as US tries to reset strained ties

NEW DELHI (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in India on Saturday ahead of a meeting next week with his counterparts from India, Australia, and Japan, members of the Indo-Pacific strategic alliance known as the Quad.

Rubio's first official trip to India comes as Washington seeks to stabilize relations with New Delhi after ties soured over President Donald Trump's tariff policies, which raised duties on several Indian exports.

Much of Rubio's four-day visit, however, will focus on a multicity tour, along with a gala reception in New Delhi marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

"There's a lot to work on with India, they're a great ally and partner. We do a lot of good work with them so this is an important trip," Rubio said ahead of his visit to India.

Rubio arrived in eastern city of Kolkata early Saturday and was scheduled to visit Mother House, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa. In coming days, he will also visit northern cities of Agra and Jaipur, known for iconic monuments and palaces.

Later Saturday, Rubio called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and "shared U.S. perspective on various regional and global issues, including the situation in West Asia," a statement by Modi's office said. Modi reiterated India's support for peace efforts and stressed the need to resolve conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, it said.

Rubio briefed Modi on progress in bilateral cooperation across defense, strategic technologies, trade and investment, energy, connectivity, education and people-to-people ties, the statement added.

Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador in India, in a social media post said Rubio extended an invite to Modi on behalf of Trump to visit the White House in the near future. He said the meeting was productive and focused on ways to deepen U.S.-India cooperation in security, trade and critical technologies.

Rubio is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday.

On Tuesday in New Delhi, Rubio will participate in the ministerial meeting of the Quad that has repeatedly accused China of flexing its military muscles in the South China Sea and aggressively pushing its maritime territorial claims.

Beijing maintains that its military is purely defensive to protect what it says are its sovereign rights and calls the Quad an attempt to contain its economic growth and influence.

After his inauguration in January last year, Rubio's first formal international engagement was meeting with the foreign ministers of the other Quad countries, both jointly and in separate sessions.