- 2 days ago
In an exclusive interview with India Today, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described India as one of America’s most important strategic allies, confirming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the US for a standalone bilateral meeting in addition to the G20 summit.
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00:04Welcome to a very special broadcast of India Today.
00:08Ladies and gentlemen, there are interviews and then there is the interview.
00:12India Today has brought global exclusive interviews with leaders who actually shaped the world.
00:19And today we're joined by Secretary Marco Rubio.
00:23Secretary, welcome to India.
00:25You've spent two days in India now.
00:27You've met with the Prime Minister, you've met with EM Jay Shankar.
00:31What can you tell us about these meetings that we held with the Prime Minister and Jay Shankar?
00:34They're all great.
00:34I mean, first of all, this is a great place.
00:36I've really enjoyed our time.
00:37And we've only been here for a couple of days.
00:38We'll be here a couple more.
00:40And I could be here four weeks and not see it all because it's such a big country with so
00:43much to show us.
00:44But it's also a very important strategic relationship.
00:47It's a strategic alliance.
00:48You know, we have a lot of alliances around the world.
00:50We have a lot of countries we deal with.
00:51But we have a handful of really important strategic alliances.
00:54And India is one of them, so many areas of overlap that we care about, that India cares about,
00:59and that we both have capabilities to contribute.
01:01So it makes sense.
01:02And so we're here really just to continue to build upon that relationship
01:05because in every new era there are new opportunities and new challenges that emerge around the world.
01:09And India is one of the countries we're closest with on all of these.
01:13You've indicated that Prime Minister Modi would be traveling to the U.S. this year.
01:16We do know for a fact that he might be going at G20.
01:19Is that bilateral a different engagement than the G20?
01:21Well, we want it to be a separate one.
01:23We want it to have a standalone visit.
01:24Obviously, we look forward to hosting him in December in Florida for the G20.
01:29But we'd like to have a meeting in addition to that.
01:31And he indicated he would come.
01:33So obviously, we'll work through the details on the proper timing.
01:35But, you know, he was there last year.
01:37We'd love to see him come back.
01:38Any timeline?
01:39No timeline?
01:40I mean, it could be?
01:40Well, we'd like to see it next week.
01:42But I don't know.
01:42That's probably a little too soon.
01:43But as soon as he's ready to come, you know, he's a busy guy as well.
01:46I mean, he's got a big country to run.
01:47And he's also just came back from an extensive foreign trip.
01:51But, you know, we'll work out the details of when.
01:53But when is not as important as soon as possible.
01:56Whatever fits in within the schedule, we'll accommodate it.
01:58And so we're excited about that.
02:01The relationship actually was put back on fast track after January when Ambassador Gore came to the U.S.
02:08The trade deal has been pending for a while.
02:09You said there's a trade delegation visiting next month.
02:12Is that when you think the trade deal could be signed?
02:14Well, I don't know.
02:15We hope to have it even next week or the week after.
02:18But we're down to very final details, you know, the finite details of a deal.
02:22But I'm very confident.
02:23We all have a lot of reason to be optimistic that we're on the verge of a trade deal.
02:27It'll be a great thing because it'll be good for both countries.
02:30It'll increase both U.S. investment here and Indian investment in the United States.
02:34It'll create a platform for more co-investment between our companies, more cooperation.
02:39Obviously, you know, things like tariffs and all that sit on top of the broader relationship.
02:44And affect all of it.
02:45So the sooner we can put that to rest with a good trade deal that's good for both countries,
02:49then the opportunities are limitless.
02:51Is there a tariff number you want to disclose?
02:53Well, I'm not the tariff negotiator.
02:55The president, obviously, is very involved in that.
02:57But, look, it's more, it's, obviously, the tariffs get a lot of attention.
03:00But it's not just that.
03:00It's access to products.
03:02And, you know, every trade agreement, every trade relationship requires modernization.
03:06Every 10, 20, 30 years because new sectors emerge, because new imbalances emerge,
03:11because there are some industries that perhaps have not been focused on as much in the past.
03:15So I view, as much as anything else, not just about tariffs,
03:18but about creating the conditions to be able to do all these other things together that we want to be
03:22able to do.
03:23So it could be as early as next month.
03:25It's just not.
03:26Yeah, I think, you know, I wouldn't put a definitive timeline, but I think it's weeks, not months.
03:30Okay.
03:31You've been very passionate about Quad.
03:33You know, you've mentioned that, you know, it's really close to you.
03:36One of the first things you did after taking the O2S Quad,
03:39what tangible outcomes are we looking at from the Tuesday's meeting?
03:43Well, I think we're just building on what we've already been working on.
03:45So one of the things we talked about at the second meeting we had with our foreign ministers,
03:48that we don't want just the Quad to be, you know, a semi-annual meeting of like-minded countries.
03:53You want it to actually be a forum on which we can begin to partner on things.
03:56And so one of the things, obviously, is maritime security,
03:59you know, the threats to maritime security that exists.
04:02So those are one of the areas that we're going to have.
04:04We're going to continue to build out more formulations on things we can jointly do together in that front.
04:09I think there's also a tremendous interest in critical minerals and supply chains.
04:13That's something that all four countries involved in the Quad are very interested in
04:16and have capabilities to bring to that as well.
04:18So those are two areas where I think we can begin to build out some concrete actions
04:22and hopefully set the stage for a very successful meeting among the Quad leaders,
04:26the actual leaders of the four countries.
04:28We want to make sure we do the work necessary and position it so when they do meet,
04:32they'll have very specific deliverables, you know, things that actually they can announce when they get together.
04:36And which is when?
04:37I mean, the Quad...
04:38Well, hopefully this year.
04:39I don't have a date on that yet, but hopefully this year we'll find a time for all four leaders
04:42to get together.
04:43And it's our job at the ministries to sort of make sure that we've positioned it
04:47so that when they meet, they're there to announce something important,
04:50something that's been worked out, something that we're going to be working on together.
04:52Okay, let's move towards Iran now.
04:55That's the hot topic right now.
04:56I mean, there's so many versions of this deal floating out.
04:58There's so many reports coming out about if Iran is willing to give up uranium versus not.
05:03What can you tell us about that?
05:05Well, I would say there's two ways.
05:07You look at it and you have to bifurcate two things.
05:10Number one is the issue of the straits.
05:11What they're doing in the straits is illegal, unlawful, reckless, dangerous, and unacceptable.
05:17And I think the whole world needs to say that.
05:18And most of the countries in the world are saying that.
05:20And India is saying that.
05:21The United States is saying that everywhere.
05:23Even the Chinese told us this last week when we were over there
05:26that there can't be a system in which a country takes over an international waterway,
05:30blows up ships that don't agree to pay them a toll.
05:33That cannot happen.
05:33That cannot be normalized.
05:35The straits need to be open immediately and fully.
05:38And so that's the first stage of it.
05:40The second is that Iran needs to enter into serious negotiations on three topics.
05:45Their pledge never to have nuclear weapons and restrictions long-term on their enrichment capabilities.
05:52And what do you do with a highly enriched uranium?
05:55There's no reason to have 60% enriched uranium unless you want to turn it into 90% enriched uranium
05:59and weaponize it.
06:00Those topics have to be confronted.
06:02Now, those are highly technical.
06:03It'll take time to work through those.
06:05And obviously there'll be benefits for Iran if, in fact,
06:08they agree on these things and those negotiations.
06:10So open the straits, have a serious negotiation,
06:13and reach an outcome in which they'll never have a nuclear weapon,
06:15in which the issues of enrichment and the issues of the highly enriched uranium are settled.
06:20And in exchange, they'll get benefits for doing that.
06:22Obviously, those are going to be hard negotiations.
06:25But for the world, the most immediate step that's most important is that the straits are reopened.
06:29But what we cannot allow is a system in which they charge tolls and threaten to blow up commercial ships.
06:35That can't continue.
06:37The announcement of ceasefire has also drawn some criticism, not only from Democrats back home,
06:42but also from somebody like Senator Lindsey Graham, who said, you know, he doesn't understand this deal.
06:47What would you like to tell him about this announcement?
06:49Well, look, at the end of the day, the ceasefire, what we're really talking about here is how can we
06:52get the straits open
06:53and how can we get Iran into a very serious negotiation that addresses their nuclear ambitions,
06:58or what we believe to be their nuclear ambitions.
07:00The president's made that a very clear red line.
07:02They will never have a nuclear weapon.
07:04And every option the president has available today to keep them from having a nuclear weapon,
07:08he will have six months from now.
07:10He will have a year from now.
07:11It's always going to be our preference, always.
07:13As long as Donald Trump is president of the United States,
07:16it will always be our preference to settle our differences with other countries diplomatically,
07:20through engagement, through negotiation.
07:22Some countries are easier to deal with than others.
07:24I'm not claiming that Iran is an easy negotiation.
07:26But that will always be the president's preference.
07:28And he's going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed.
07:31Now, let me say this.
07:32If these efforts don't work out, if, in fact, diplomacy fails in this instance,
07:36it will not be the fault of the United States or our allies in the Gulf.
07:39It will be 100% Iran's fault.
07:41But let's hope it does work out.
07:43Would that mean you'd go back to resuming Operation Fury?
07:45Well, again, the president has made clear that he will do whatever it takes to make sure that Iran never
07:50has a nuclear weapon.
07:51He would prefer to fix it and address it through a negotiated diplomatic means.
07:56And that's what we're going to exhaust every opportunity to do.
07:58But ultimately, that option exists there for the president if that doesn't work out.
08:03But that is not our preference.
08:05Our first choice is to be able to do this through a negotiated agreement.
08:08And that's what we're working towards.
08:10You work with China.
08:11You were recently in China.
08:12You were known as China Hawk in the Senate.
08:14What is your assessment of the relationship?
08:17Well, here's the bottom line.
08:18The U.S. and China are the two largest economies in the world.
08:21And we also have powerful militaries.
08:23The United States has the most powerful military in the world.
08:25And China is undertaking the largest, most rapid military buildup probably in history.
08:30And so the question is, our countries have to have relations.
08:33We have to be able to speak.
08:34There has to be communication.
08:35And there has to be engagement.
08:36I think that it was clear before the visit and after the visit that there will also be strong areas
08:41of disagreement between the two countries.
08:42And those have to be managed because if they're not managed and they turn into something more conflictive, that could
08:48be problematic, not just to both countries, but to the world.
08:51So it was an important visit in the sense that our countries have to be able to speak to one
08:54another.
08:55But it's also clear that there are specific issues in which we're not going to agree, specific things that we're
09:00going to have to address that they probably don't like, like our over-dependence on them for critical minerals and
09:05supply chains.
09:06But I think the notion that we have to diversify our supply chains is not unique to America.
09:10Many countries around the world are reaching that conclusion as well.
09:14So, you know, obviously there's no doubt that there will be issues of disagreement and issues that we're going to
09:18have to manage.
09:19But it's important for two countries like China and the United States to have engagement and be able to speak
09:24to one another because you do want to avoid, if possible, and I think it is possible, you want to
09:29avoid anything that could lead to destabilization in any part of the world.
09:33You talked about counterterrorism efforts and cooperating with India on that.
09:38In January 2026, OSAC, State Department, released a report about the growth of terrorism in Pakistan.
09:45I think it's a 35% increase of footprint in Pakistan about terrorism.
09:49At what point would you guys like to review how it deals with that, the terrorism emanating from Pakistan?
09:56Well, we want to deal with terrorism no matter where it's emanating from.
09:59I mean, if there are armed groups that are seeking to kill people and conduct acts of terrorism, and they're
10:03operating within the national space of any country in the world, we need to address it.
10:06We've had to address it in our own hemisphere.
10:08We have very dangerous cartels operating now within Mexican territory, and we try to partner with the Mexican government to
10:14address it.
10:15And we've had some effect in that regard, and others I think it's fallen short.
10:18We have, there are multiple places.
10:20I mean, Africa is a place where you've seen terrorism grow rapidly, and we've had the opportunity recently to partner
10:26with Nigeria, for example, to go after these elements.
10:29So I would hope that we would be able to work with Pakistani authorities to go after these very dangerous
10:33groups who pose a threat, ultimately will pose a threat to the state,
10:37but in the short term pose a threat to people in the regions and to the interests of the United
10:41States.
10:42So, you know, anywhere where there's terrorism that's a threat to our national interest and national security, we want to
10:47address it.
10:48And ideally, you want to address it in cooperation, if they're located within a country, within that country's boundaries, with
10:54the cooperation of that country.
10:56Okay.
10:58What, you know, President Trump is a very dynamic personality.
11:01What is the most misunderstood aspect of his personality?
11:04Of the President's?
11:05You know, I think it's interesting.
11:07The President's preference is to be someone's friend, to be friendly.
11:09The President's preference is always to get along well with people, despite disagreements.
11:14He has a long history of being very successful in business, not just in building things, but in running operations
11:19that are built on hospitality.
11:21He's incredibly hospitable.
11:22He's a very gracious host.
11:24And if you look at his preference, he's always to get along with people.
11:27The other thing is the President has a willingness to talk to anybody.
11:30You know, traditionally in American politics, if you have a disagreement with a country or an individual, the posture is,
11:36we can't talk to them.
11:37You must not speak to them.
11:38You must ignore them.
11:39The President's attitude is very different.
11:41His attitude is, if people are willing to talk to you, you should talk to them.
11:45It doesn't mean you're going to agree.
11:46It doesn't mean you're going to reach an agreement.
11:47It doesn't mean you're going to work things out.
11:49But what ill or bad can come of engaging with them?
11:52And I think that's been a problem for a lot of people that follow American politics, because I think a
11:56lot of times people think that somehow engaging in talks and conversation and engagement with a country is somehow a
12:02concession.
12:03You know, this is the President that met with Kim Jong-un.
12:06And, you know, when no American had spoken and now, sadly, you know, he wasn't in office the last four
12:13years.
12:13And so a lot of the momentum that was achieved during his first term was lost.
12:16But he's willing to talk to anybody, and he's willing to get along with anybody.
12:21By the same token, he's not the kind of guy you want to cross.
12:24This is a President that when he says something, he does it.
12:27Even with Iran, even on the issue of Iran, people think – I've seen videos, and they're out there.
12:32The people can watch him online.
12:34The President was talking about Iran and the threat posed from Iran back in 1985, when he was a real
12:39estate developer.
12:40He wasn't even in politics.
12:41And what he was saying in 1985 is what he's saying now.
12:44So there's tremendous consistency in that regard.
12:47He's a President that means what he says.
12:49And if he says, I'm going to do something, I would take him seriously.
12:53Secretary, thank you so much for doing this.
12:55You're a very fit person.
12:57You know, little birdie told me you like to run.
12:59Would you be running in 2028 for a five-year?
13:02Even?
13:03In 2028?
13:04Yeah.
13:04Oh, you're talking about election stuff.
13:06Oh, I'm not answering.
13:07I'm very happy being the Secretary of State for President Trump.
13:10It's a great job.
13:11I can't imagine there's a better job than this in American politics.
13:14So I'm very happy doing this role.
13:15All right.
13:15Thank you so much for talking with us.
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