Autobayng News Team
New Delhi: US secretary of state Marco Rubio will arrive in India on Saturday for the Quad foreign ministers meeting here on May 26. The meeting is expected to focus among other issues on critical minerals and the associated supply chain, amid weaponisation of the sector by China and uncertainty over a possible summit following President Donald Trump’s lack of interest so far in the grouping.
At the invitation of external affairs minister S Jaishankar, foreign ministers Penny Wong of Australia, Toshimitsu Motegi of Japan and US secretary of state Marco Rubio will visit New Delhi to participate in the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday.
“In keeping with the Quad vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, the ministers will build on discussions held in Washington, on July 1, 2025. They will exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern,” the ministry said in a news release.
The ministers aim to discuss critical minerals and supply chains, critical technology, HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) and maritime security hedging against Beijing’s ambitions and weaponisation of supply chains, ET has learnt.
Strengthening access to critical minerals and supply chain amid Chinese monopoly on the sector is a key item on the Quad agenda and the meeting will significantly focus on the issue, according to an expert familiar with the issue.
Critical minerals are essential for transition to green energy and helping reduce dependence on the fossil fuel.
“During their visit to New Delhi, the foreign ministers of Australia and Japan, and the United States secretary of state are also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the external affairs minister and call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” according to the MEA release. Rubio will also visit Kolkata, Jaipur and Agra.
Rubio’s visit to Kolkata is the first to the city by a US secretary of state in 14 years. The last to visit was Hillary Clinton in May 2012, when she had met the then chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
While Trump remains ambivalent over the Quad, the meeting would enable to maintain momentum in the group and its priorities. The meeting, coming close on the heels of Trump’s China visit, is important to send a message to Asean that Quad can provide alternatives to China’s projects in the region, according to the expert cited earlier.
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