US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday at a time when India and the US are trying to repair their bilateral ties and move forward.The ties had suffered a major setback over tariffs, visa curbs, deportations and pronounced tilt towards Pakistan by US President Donald Trump in the last one year or so. The war in West Asia has impacted India economically, as it has led to rise in fuel prices and a cascading effect on commodities.On his first visit to India as US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Rubio will also attend the meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers in New Delhi on May 26.He landed in Kolkata around 7 am, and came to New Delhi by afternoon.In Kolkata, he visited the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. After his visit, along with his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, he posted on X, “Mother Teresa left a tremendous legacy of compassion and service. I was honored to visit the Missionaries of Charity today to pay homage to her legacy and to see the living example of the Catholic faith in action.”US ambassador Sergio Gor posted on X, “Joined @SecRubio in Kolkata for a visit to the Missionaries of Charity. Moments like these remind us the U.S.-India partnership rests not only on strong policies, but also on shared values and the spirit of selfless service that transcends borders.”Earlier, upon his arrival at the airport, Gor had said, “Honored to welcome my friend @SecRubio to India! We have an ambitious agenda ahead, including the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, focused on advancing @POTUS’ vision for an even stronger U.S.-India partnership. Looking forward to great conversations and making real progress together!”Story continues below this adHis visit to Kolkata is significant because the US consulate in the city was the first American diplomatic outpost not only in India, but also in Asia. It is also the second oldest American diplomatic post in the world, established in the late 18th century. This year is the 250th anniversary of US independence.In New Delhi, Rubio met Modi around 2 pm, and is going to attend an event at the US embassy later in the evening.On Sunday, he will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and attend the US Independence Day celebrations in the evening. He is likely to visit Agra and Jaipur Monday.On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, said: “At the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the Foreign Minister of Australia, Penny Wong; the Foreign Minister of Japan, Toshimitsu Motegi; and the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will undertake an official visit to New Delhi to participate in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 26 May 2026.”Story continues below this ad“In keeping with the Quad vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Ministers will build on discussions held in Washington, D.C. on 1 July 2025. They will exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern,” it said.During their visit to New Delhi, the Foreign Ministers are also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the External Affairs Minister and call on Prime Minister Modi, the MEA said.US State Department spokesperson Thomas ‘Tommy’ Pigott, in a statement, said, “Secretary Rubio will travel to India from May 23-26, where he will visit Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur, and New Delhi. The Secretary will discuss energy security, trade, and defense cooperation during meetings with senior Indian officials.”Ahead of the visit, Rubio said the US is ready to sell as much energy as India is willing to buy.Story continues below this adInteracting with reporters in Miami before heading out to Sweden and India, he described India as a “great partner” and said his visit was important as it would give him an opportunity to meet with ministers from the Quad nations.“Well, we want to sell them as much energy as they’ll buy. And obviously, you’ve seen, I think, we’re at historic levels of US production, and US export,” he said.“We want to be able to do more. We were already in talks with them to do more. We want them to be a bigger part of their portfolio. We also think there are opportunities with Venezuelan oil,” he said.Describing India as “a great ally, a great partner,” he said, “We do a lot of good work with them. And so it is an important trip. I’m glad we’re able to do it because I think there’ll be a lot for us to talk about.”Story continues below this ad“We’ll also meet with Quad there, which is important. I think my first meeting as Secretary of State was with the Quad. I’m glad we are able to do it now in India and we’re going to do one later in the year as well,” he said.Rubio said the acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez was also scheduled to visit India next week and there will be many opportunities to work with New Delhi.“In fact, it’s my understanding that the interim President of Venezuela will be travelling to India next week as well. So, there’s opportunities. There’s a lot to work on with India,” he said.Rodriquez’s visit has not been officially announced, and officials said that she was supposed to come for the International Big Cat Alliance summit. But the summit has been deferred now because of the Ebola outbreak in Africa.Story continues below this adRubio’s visit signals incremental progress in bilateral ties between India and the US, as he visits India for the meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers. This will pave the way for Quad leaders’ summit later this year.If the summit takes place, it will work towards eliminating the shadow cast on Indo-US ties as well as the future of the Quad grouping ever since US President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India and prohibitive costs on new H-1B visa applications.The tariffs were removed after the two sides agreed on a trade deal early February this year. Now, the two sides are also looking at an Indian delegation going to the US to finalise the trade agreement.