US President Donald Trump is likely to visit India early next year as the two countries work to finalise a bilateral trade deal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
In an interview with Indian media outlet IANS (Indo-Asian News Service) on Saturday, Rubio said the US is working towards arranging the visit sometime early next year. Rubio also indicated that he himself is likely to travel to India later this year to prepare for the president’s trip.
“We’re working towards sometime early next year to have the president come,” Rubio told IANS.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Trump last week on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, with Trump describing their conversation as “very good.”
According to Reuters reports, India has been pushing for a Trump visit for months, potentially as part of a broader engagement involving Japan and Australia.
India-US relations have been strained over the past year, with Washington imposing high tariffs on Indian goods, penalising New Delhi for purchasing Russian oil, and engaging closely with India’s arch-rival Pakistan.
Rubio visited India last month seeking to repair ties, but relations were again roiled after the killing of three Indian sailors in attacks on commercial ships by the US Navy in the Gulf.
In the interview, Rubio said the US hoped to conclude a trade deal with India. “We’re on the last inches of getting it done and it’s very positive,” he said.
