As the United States and India push to finalize a bilateral trade agreement, Washington seeks to arrange an official visit by President Donald Trump to India early next year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
In an interview with IANS, Rubio said he is set to visit India later this year to lay the groundwork for Trump’s expected visit, according to Arab News.
“We’re working toward sometime early next year to have the president come,” Rubio said, according to IANS.
During last week’s Group of Seven (G7) summit in France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held remarkable talks with Trump, who later said that the two leaders had a “very good” conversation.
New Delhi has been urging Washington for months to schedule a visit by Trump, potentially alongside a meeting with leaders of Japan and Australia.
The bilateral ties between India and the US have deteriorated over the past year, after Washington imposed high tariffs on Indian goods, penalized New Delhi over its purchases of Russian oil, and fostered ties with India’s longtime rival, Pakistan.
In May, Rubio traveled to India to improve bilateral relations, but ties have come under a new strain following the deaths of three Indian sailors in US Navy attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf.
Rubio told IANS he hoped to finalize the trade agreement between the United States and India soon. “We’re on the last inches of getting it done, and it’s very positive,” he said.
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