Why is Marco Rubio skipping Delhi for Mumbai and Reliance hub Jamnagar? What it signals about India-US ties under Trump

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s upcoming India visit is drawing attention for an unusual itinerary: Mumbai and Jamnagar, rather than New Delhi, the national capital which is the traditional centre of high-level diplomatic engagements.

The choice of destinations has raised questions about the agenda of the visit and what it signals about India-US ties under President Donald Trump.

Rubio is scheduled to visit India from October 18 to 22, following a trip to Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The US State Department has said the visit will focus on strengthening the strategic partnership, discussing regional and global developments, and exploring opportunities to deepen energy cooperation.

This will be Rubio’s second visit to India this year, after attending the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi in May.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed that Jaishankar will meet Rubio in Mumbai on October 20.

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has also said the trip will have a stronger business focus, with Rubio expected to meet government officials in Mumbai and representatives of Reliance Industries in Jamnagar.

Why Mumbai and Jamnagar instead of Delhi?

The itinerary stands out because official bilateral talks with a visiting US secretary of state would ordinarily be expected to take place in the national capital.

Mumbai, India’s financial capital, offers access to corporate leaders and financial institutions, while Jamnagar in Gujarat is home to Reliance Industries’ massive refining complex, owned by Mukesh Ambani.

Rubio is expected to visit the refinery and meet Reliance representatives, according to reports citing the US envoy.

Why is the venue triggering a diplomatic debate?

The controversy gathered momentum after Washington announced Rubio’s visit and Gor publicly outlined the plan for meetings in Mumbai.

The Indian opposition questioned why Jaishankar would travel outside the capital to meet the US Secretary of State, arguing that the arrangement departed from established diplomatic practice.

Former diplomat Suresh K Goel described the arrangement as unusual, drawing on his experience in the Ministry of External Affairs. He argued that official visits are generally planned by the MEA in consultation with the visiting government and its embassy, distinguishing formal diplomatic engagements from private programmes.

“With my own experience of such visits in the Ministry of External Affairs, it is very strange that the minister should be going to Mumbai for official level discussions with Marco Rubio,” Goel told LiveMint.

He explained that official engagements are normally coordinated through established diplomatic channels, while private programmes are handled separately.

“Whenever the Secretary of State or the foreign minister visits India on an official visit, the programme is prepared by the Ministry of External Affairs in consultation with the embassy or the government of the USA,” he said.

“Any private programme for which he wants to keep his time away that is left to the embassy. But the MEA knows that this is a private programme and they know the programme because his security is the responsibility of the government of India.”

Goel said that if the MEA had prepared the itinerary, the decision to hold the meeting in Mumbai rather than Delhi would merit scrutiny.

“If the Ministry of External Affairs prepared the programme, I do find it that this meeting was not scheduled earlier in Delhi and that he was going to Mumbai or to Jamnagar. Clearly, the agenda for the meeting was not official talks or anything,” he said.

The government, however, has pushed back against the criticism. The MEA has said that hosting foreign dignitaries in cities outside New Delhi is not unprecedented, particularly when visits involve business and sector-specific engagements. Jaishankar’s meeting with Rubio in Mumbai has now been formally confirmed for October 20.

What does the itinerary signal about India-US ties?

Beyond the debate over protocol, Rubio’s visit comes at a sensitive point in India-US relations, with trade disagreements and differences over energy policy adding to the challenges facing the partnership.

Goel cautioned against allowing disagreements over trade or the tone of bilateral engagement to overshadow the broader strategic relationship.

“The relationship between India and the USA is very, very important in all respects. And therefore, the government, rather than becoming part of this temperament or trade effect kind of a thing, has to be mature in our dealing and try and see how we can actually conduct the relationship,” he said.

He added that the talks between Rubio and Jaishankar would be important in understanding the rationale behind the meeting’s location.

“From that point of view, the conversations between Rubio and the EM are important and perhaps would explain why the minister would want to go to Mumbai to conduct talks,” Goel said.

Why the strategic partnership still matters

Despite current differences, Goel said India remains important to the United States because of its economic potential, democratic institutions and cooperation across multiple sectors.

“India continues to be important for the USA as an economic and democratic partner. After all, if you look at Asia, which is the other democracy which can compare in terms of relationship?” he said.

He pointed to the breadth of cooperation between the two countries, including information technology, defence and professional services.

“The relationship—there are many factors here. There are professionals, there is IT cooperation, there is defence cooperation, there are many areas. So India will continue to be important,” Goel said.

Rubio’s visit will therefore be watched not only for the significance of its Mumbai and Jamnagar stops, but also for whether the discussions help sustain cooperation across trade, energy, defence and technology.