Mumbai, Oct 2026 : India and the United States have welcomed the progress made in negotiations on the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and reaffirmed their commitment to working towards its early conclusion, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.
The development came during the visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Mumbai, where he held discussions with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on strengthening bilateral relations and advancing cooperation across key strategic sectors.
According to the MEA, the two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of India-US relations and discussed measures to further strengthen their Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Their discussions covered trade, defence, technology, energy security and regional and global developments.
“Both sides had a detailed exchange of views on a wide range of areas, including trade, defence, technology and energy security. They welcomed the progress made in negotiations on the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and reaffirmed their commitment to working towards its early conclusion,” the ministry said in a statement.
Rubio is visiting India from October 20 to 21 at the invitation of Jaishankar. This is his second visit to the country, following his trip to New Delhi in May.
During their meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday, the two ministers discussed ways to deepen bilateral engagement, with particular emphasis on trade, energy, technology, defence and people-to-people ties. They also exchanged views on developments in the region.
Following the meeting, Jaishankar shared details of the discussions on social media platform X.
“Pleased to meet US Marco Rubio in Mumbai today. We shared views on further advancement of our ties, focusing on trade, energy, technology, defence and people-to-people ties. Also exchanged views on regional developments,” he said.
Rubio also confirmed that energy security and defence cooperation featured prominently in the discussions.
“In Mumbai, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and I discussed energy security and defence cooperation while reaffirming the importance of advancing the US-India strategic partnership,” the US Secretary of State said in a post on X.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and other senior officials were also present during the meeting.
Separately, Jaishankar attended the US ‘Freedom 250’ reception hosted by Ambassador Gor, where the external affairs minister was the chief guest.
The MEA said Rubio’s visit reflected the continued momentum in high-level exchanges between India and the United States. It also underscored the importance both countries attach to advancing the India-US COMPACT for the 21st century.
The discussions come as both countries seek to expand economic engagement and strengthen cooperation in strategic areas. Progress towards concluding the proposed trade agreement remains a key component of their efforts to deepen commercial ties, alongside collaboration in defence, technology and energy.
The two sides reiterated their commitment to maintaining close engagement and building on the existing strategic partnership, with the early conclusion of the BTA remaining an important shared objective.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
