United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday described India as one of America's most important strategic partners, emphasizing that the relationship extends far beyond traditional diplomacy. Speaking at a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Rubio highlighted the alignment of interests and cooperation across multiple global issues.
Strategic Partnership Defined
Rubio explained that a strategic partnership is fundamentally different from a standard alliance. "A strategic partnership is something very different," he said. "A strategic partnership is when your interests as two nations are aligned, and you work together strategically to solve those problems." He noted that the breadth of issues on which the United States and India collaborate underscores the strength of their ties. "The list of issues that we work together with India on, the breadth of scope of them, is what highlights the fact that India is an important strategic partner in the United States, one of our most important strategic partners in the world," Rubio stated.
Shared Democratic Values
Rubio also referenced the democratic values that both countries share. "Democracies respond directly to their people, and you have to respond constantly," he remarked. This common foundation, he suggested, forms a strong basis for cooperation.
Counterterrorism Cooperation
On the issue of terrorism, Rubio noted that both India and the United States have suffered due to global terrorist networks, which has led to robust counterterrorism collaboration. "On the issue of terrorism, both of our countries have suffered, both directly and indirectly, because of global terrorist networks. There was a strong counterterrorism alignment as a result of that," he said.
Emerging Technologies and Innovation
Rubio also spoke about cooperation in emerging technologies and innovation, emphasizing that both nations are aligned on managing opportunities and risks in this sector. "There is a tremendous strategic alliance between our countries and agreement on that point," he added.
Free Flow of Global Trade
Furthermore, Rubio highlighted joint efforts to ensure the free movement of global trade, particularly in international waters and airspace. "Likewise, on the unimpeded flow of commerce, especially in international airspace and international waters, this is true in the Indo-Pacific, ensuring that there's a free and open Indo-Pacific, but it extends beyond the Indo-Pacific," he explained.
Delegation-Level Talks
Earlier, Jaishankar and Rubio held delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi as part of ongoing high-level engagement between the two countries. The meeting was attended by senior officials from both sides. Jaishankar was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, and other officials, while Rubio was joined by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and members of the American delegation.
Rubio's Remarks on First Day
During the meeting, Rubio described the first day of his India visit as "fantastic" and reiterated that the US and India are not just allies but strategic allies. "It has already been a fantastic first day. We're looking forward to our visits and our talks today and learning more about the country... As you've highlighted, the United States and India aren't just allies; we're strategic allies, and that's of critical importance. We obviously work with countries all over the world and all over the region on a variety of issues as they emerge, but our strategic partnership is what sets this relationship apart, because it's not simply limited to a region. It extends to opportunities to cooperate globally in different regions of the world, and that includes potentially in the Western Hemisphere and places like that," he said.
Rubio added that there is still a "lot to work on" between the two countries and described India and the US as the world's two largest democracies. He said that this shared characteristic creates a strong foundation for "incredible cooperation" and emphasized that the visit aims at "continuing to build on what is already a very solid and strong strategic partnership."
