US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar exchange a handshake at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on Sunday. | Photo Credit: ANI

In a strong signal that India will maintain its energy sovereignty, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar noted that while the US, along with some other nations, has emerged as a significant and reliable energy partner, India will continue to source energy from multiple suppliers to navigate current vulnerabilities in the Strait of Hormuz and secure its future needs.

Speaking at a joint media briefing during their bilateral meeting on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the US and India are likely to conclude a bilateral trade agreement that will be enduring and mutually beneficial and the US Trade Representative is expected to visit India soon to advance the negotiations.

“This is an era of de-risking, and probably energy more than anything else requires de-risking. So, a big country, if you are to do de-risking, looks at multiple sourcing and for us, the US has emerged as a very significant and reliable source of energy, as indeed have some other countries. The way we will deal with the current situation in Hormuz and frankly, going forward as well, is to diversify our energy sources…It is important to keep energy prices down for global growth,” he said.

Jaishankar’s comments are important in the context of the pressure being put by the US on India since last year to stop its oil purchases from Russia on the grounds that it helped “fuel” Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Rubio and Jaishankar discussed the economic repercussions of the West Asia crisis triggered by the US and Israel’s war with Iran as well as a range of bilateral issues including trade, energy security, defence cooperation, critical mineral supplies, civil nuclear partnership, and visa processing challenges for Indian travellers.

The US Secretary of State, on a four-day visit to India, also held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and is set to attend the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting on Tuesday.

On the ongoing bilateral trade agreement negotiations that slowed down after the US Supreme Court invalidated US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, Rubio said a lot of progress had been made. “We are hopeful that our trade representative can visit here very soon….I think we’re going to wind up with a trade agreement between the US and India that’s going to be enduring and is going to be beneficial to both sides and sustainable..,” Rubio said.

Answering questions on the recent changes in J1 visa, F-1, H-1B visa issuance, Rubio said it was not targeted against India. “The United States is currently undergoing a process of reforming the system by which we choose how many people come into our country, who comes in, when they come in, etc. It is not a system that is targeted at India; it is one that’s being applied globally,” he said.

Published on May 24, 2026