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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Mumbai on Wednesday for Jamnagar on the second leg of his India visit. Jamnagar is the home to one of the World's largest refineries, operated by Reliance. Rubio's Jamnagar visit will focus on talks that will include "enhanced energy cooperation".
Ahead of his visit the US State Department said, " Marco Rubios second trip to India this year focused around two major hubs of finance, energy, and culture: Mumbai and Jamnagar. The U.S.-India relationship is central to U.S. security and prosperity. This visit underscores our commitment to commercial investment, energy cooperation, and the strategic partnership between our two democracies." On Tuesday, Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held wide-ranging discussions in Mumbai reviewing the full scope of IndiaUS ties and committing to an early conclusion of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement. Both sides engaged in detailed deliberations spanning key strategic sectors, including trade, defence, technology, and energy security. "They welcomed the progress made in negotiations on the IndiaUS Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and reaffirmed their commitment to working towards its early conclusion," the MEA stated, adding that the ministers also exchanged views on broader regional and global developments. Highlighting the trajectory of bilateral ties, the MEA noted that the visit reflects "the sustained momentum of high-level exchanges between the two countries, underscoring the importance both sides attach to further advancing the India-US COMPACT for the 21st century. On Tuesday night, Rubio alsorevealed that the India-US trade deal is incredibly close, indicating that finalisation is anticipated shortly. Speaking to Network18, Rubio noted that while he is not directly engaged in the negotiations, which are handled through the trade representative, he has closely monitored the discussions and expects the agreement to materialise in a matter of weeks, not months. Elaborating on the meticulous final stages, he highlighted the necessity of absolute precision prior to public announcements to safeguard bilateral ties of such high importance. I felt that way before, and with these deals, its always important that it would be totally agreed to, every detail of it, before its announced because you cant afford for a relationship of this magnitude to be threatened by announcing a deal and it turning out the deal wasnt finalised. But its incredibly close. I think we are down to some technical details that need to be worked out. Technical details matter because there has to be an agreement; both sides have to agree that the language means the same thing. So, its down to that level, he said. (ANI)
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