US will ‘renew’ Quad, Rubio says ahead of India summit

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday they will renew Quad, a partnership between the US, India, Australia and Japan, as New Delhi is set to host the top diplomats of the 4-nation grouping next week.

“The relationship between our two countries is at the cornerstone of our approach to the Indo-Pacific...My very first meeting officially as secretary of state was a meeting of the Quad, and we were going to renew that,” Rubio said at the US Embassy in New Delhi on Saturday.

“We wanted to do it here, not just because of our commitment to that structure of work, but also as a tangible sign of what an important role India plays in the United States, and in our posture, and in our approach to the Indo-Pacific,” he added.

The Quad was formed in 2007. The last Quad leaders' summit was held in the US in 2024.

Following his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, the top US diplomat is scheduled to hold talks with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar on Sunday and participate in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad, on Tuesday in New Delhi.

The diplomats will exchange views on advancing Quad “cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Rubio also said the relationship between Modi and US President Donald Trump is "personal," adding: "It dates back to the first administration when the president had a chance to visit here and it has carried over into the second administration. You can just see the connection between them."

Stressing the commercial ties between India and the US, Marco Rubio said: "We've expanded commercial ties with more than $20 billion in investments from the Indian companies in the United States."

In an interview with CNN-News18, Rubio said he would like the Quad leaders’ summit to take place this year, adding: “We’d like to do it as a standalone event – and maybe if it’s an opportunity to do it as a side event to a broader gathering where all the leaders are going to be there.”

“In some countries, it’s an election year, including ours, so it makes travel a little bit more difficult. But ideally, we do want to have a leaders’ Quad meeting. It would be perfect if we could do it as a standalone meeting, but we’d like to get them together, even if it’s because they happen to be in the same place at the same time, as a side meeting,” he said.

“But it’s an important signal to continue to build on the Quad, but just as important as the leaders’ meeting is turning the Quad not just to a meeting that happens with countries that like each other, but a mechanism that starts producing real work product. And we’ve begun to see that happen. That’s the most encouraging part about the Quad,” he added.