The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Friday that US State Secretary Marco Rubio will meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai on October 20.
The MEA spokesperson’s statement came amid the Opposition’s flak over Rubio’s visit to Mumbai, which was first announced by the White House. Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Pawan Khera, alleged that Jaishankar was “summoned” to Mumbai to meet US Secretary Rubio, who is skipping Delhi.
The Opposition criticised the Centre for not revealing details of the Jaishankar-Rubio meeting first. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asked, “Since when has the announcement of India’s Minister of External Affairs meetings within India been outsourced to somebody other than official spokesperson of the MEA?”
Reacting to such commentary on social media, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that External Affairs Minister Jaishankar will host the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Mumbai on October 19 and 20, 2026 – before meeting Rubio.
“On 20th October, External Affairs Minister will hold talks with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and attend the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America as the Guest of Honour,” Jaiswal said at a press conference on Friday.
Jaiswal also responded to a question about the agenda for Jaishankar’s meeting with Rubio in Mumbai next week and why Mumbai was chosen for it.
The MEA spokesperson said it has been the practice for the last decade or so that the government has hosted foreign dignitaries outside Delhi.
“And to just give you some examples, the Prime Minister hosted the Prime Minister of Spain in Vadodara, he hosted Chancellor Merz in Ahmedabad, Prime Minister of Mauritius was hosted by him in Varanasi, and then External Affairs Minister hosted the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Goa, he hosted the Foreign Minister of Botswana in Kevadia in Gujarat, and External Affairs Minister also hosted the Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar,” the MEA said.
“So that was just to give you a few examples of the meetings of leaders, of dignitaries that have happened outside of Delhi,” the spokesperson added.
On the agenda of Rubio’s India visit next week, Jaiswal said, “In so far as the visit of the Secretary of State is concerned, this forthcoming visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review India-US relations and discuss ways to further strengthen our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership that we have with the United States.”
He said discussions are expected to cover key areas of bilateral cooperation including energy, trade, investment, defense, critical and emerging technologies, and other areas of mutual interest.
“The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global developments. The visit will provide an opportunity to sustain the high-level engagement between the two countries and advance our shared priorities,’ Jaiswal said.
The White House had earlier announced Rubio’s five-day visit to India and Uzbekistan from Saturday, October 17 to Wednesday, October 22.
The White House statement released on October 13, Rubio will meet with senior government officials “to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, exchange views on regional and global dynamics, and discuss prospects for enhanced energy cooperation.”
Secretary Rubio will also meet with business leaders to promote opportunities for commercial investment and economic cooperation.
The White House’s press note came as Indian and American officials indicated earlier this month that long-running efforts to finalise a bilateral trade agreement have stalled again.
