Ahead of his first official visit to India, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday described India as a “great partner” and signalled Washington’s intent to deepen energy cooperation with New Delhi amid concerns over rising global oil prices and supply disruptions.

“Well, we want to sell them as much energy as they'll buy. And obviously, you've seen I think we're at historic levels of US production, and US export,” Rubio told reporters.

“We want to be able to do more. We were already in talks with them to do more. We want them to be a bigger part of their portfolio. We also think there are opportunities with Venezuelan oil,” Rubio said.

His remarks came in response to a question on the impact of high energy prices on India following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route.

Focus on energy security and trade ties

Rubio is scheduled to visit India from May 23 to 26 for talks aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade, defence, energy and regional security. During the visit, he will travel to Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi.

The visit will also coincide with a meeting of foreign ministers from the Quad grouping, comprising India, the United States, Japan and Australia, which is set to take place in New Delhi on May 26.

“They are a great ally, a great partner. We do a lot of good work with them. And so it is an important trip. I'm glad we're able to do it because I think there'll be a lot for us to talk about,” Rubio said.

“We'll also meet with Quad there, which is important. I think my first meeting as Secretary of State was with the Quad. I'm glad we are able to do it now in India and we're going to do one later in the year as well,” he added.

Quad meeting likely to discuss Indo-Pacific tensions

The Quad meeting is expected to be attended by Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Discussions are likely to focus on Indo-Pacific cooperation, supply chains, energy security and geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Rubio also said Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez is expected to travel to India next week, indicating growing diplomatic engagement involving energy discussions.

“In fact, it's my understanding that the interim president of Venezuela will be travelling to India next week as well. So, there's opportunities. There's a lot to work on with India,” Rubio said.

Rubio’s stop in Kolkata will mark the first visit by a US Secretary of State to the city in nearly 14 years. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had visited Kolkata in 2012.