According to reports by the Indian Asian News Agency (IANS) and Reuters, on June 26 local time, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that the United States and India are advancing negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement. The U.S. plans to arrange for U.S. President Donald Trump to visit India early next year.
Rubio told IANS that he plans to visit India this year as a precursor to Trump’s trip to India. “We are finalizing the arrangements to ensure that Trump can visit India early next year.”
Rubio mentioned that after Trump and Indian Prime Minister Modi met during the G7 summit, relations between the United States and India have improved. He said that the US side hopes to finalize trade agreements with India, and "the negotiations are at a critical stage of completion, with overall progress being very positive."
India is a very close partner and friend of the United States, and the relationship between President Trump and the Prime Minister is even closer than ever. I think this is very important in international relations. Rubio said.
In the past few months, India has been actively promoting Trump's visit to India. This visit may also coincide with a "Quad Security Dialogue" involving Japan and Australia.
Since Trump took office, relations between the United States and India have remained tense. The United States has imposed high punitive tariffs on Indian goods due to India's purchase of Russian oil. At the same time, the US continues to deepen its cooperation with Pakistan, further exacerbating the tensions between the US and India.
Last month, Rubio visited India in an attempt to improve relations between the two countries. However, the incident where the US Navy attacked merchant ships in the Gulf region and caused the deaths of three Indian crew members once again strained bilateral relations.
