"A Refining Superpower": Rubio Went to Mumbai and Jamnagar to Sell American Energy. India Should Say Yes
On Oct. 20–21, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met India's foreign minister in Mumbai and visited Jamnagar, home of Reliance's refining operations, pressing for more U.S. energy trade and saying a trade deal is "very, very close." In our view, energy is the fastest way to turn a friendship into a lasting partnership.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 23, 2026 | 6-min read Secretaries of State usually spend their trips in capital cities, shaking hands in ministry hallways. Marco Rubio's India visit this week ended somewhere different: Jamnagar, on India's western coast, home to the refining operations of Reliance Industries. He explained why in one blunt sentence. "India's a refining superpower," he told reporters in Mumbai, "and they have the ability to do that" [1]. In our view, that is smart diplomacy. The future of the U.S.-India relationship runs through energy, trade and the sea lanes that carry both. Key Takeaways Rubio met Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Mumbai on Oct. 20 and urged more energy trade with the United States [2]. Rubio said a U.S.-India trade agreement is "very, very close," with "a small number of items to wrap up" [1]. He traveled to Jamnagar to meet Reliance, noting the company's ability to refine the heavy crude produced in the Western Hemisphere, including from Venezuela [1][3]. The trip, his second official visit to India this year, focused on energy cooperation, commercial investment and the strategic partnership [4]. Rubio and Jaishankar both stressed