Foreign & Public Diplomacy

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to India this month, meeting with the other three foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, and attempting to reset Washington’s ties with New Delhi. The visit comes at a fraught moment: Since last year, bilateral relations have come under considerable strain.

The stated reasons for Rubio’s visit include attending the Quad meeting—alongside ministers from Australia, Japan, and India—and discussing trade and energy issues with Indian officials. In New Delhi, Rubio will most likely meet with Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Masri, who was in Washington last month, in addition to his formal counterpart, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to India this month, meeting with the other three foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, and attempting to reset Washington’s ties with New Delhi. The visit comes at a fraught moment: Since last year, bilateral relations have come under considerable strain.

The stated reasons for Rubio’s visit include attending the Quad meeting—alongside ministers from Australia, Japan, and India—and discussing trade and energy issues with Indian officials. In New Delhi, Rubio will most likely meet with Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Masri, who was in Washington last month, in addition to his formal counterpart, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

But the visit takes on added significance given the tribulations of the U.S.-India relationship and the fact that last year’s Quad leaders’ summit, which India was scheduled to host, was postponed due to these bilateral tensions.

U.S.-India ties started to fray shortly after the brief but intense India-Pakistan conflict a year ago, which followed a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. U.S. President Donald Trump said his intercession brought the........

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