Announcing the visit, the US State Department had earlier said that it would focus on energy cooperation, commercial investment and economic ties.
The official itinerary also did not include Delhi, which raised some questions, especially from Indian opposition politicians. But analysts say the choice was strategic.
“Delhi is where the trust gap is largest. Officials there are unhappy with a number of decisions and policies from Trump’s administration,” Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told the BBC.
But former Indian ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar, cautions against reading too much into him skipping the capital.
“This was primarily an energy-focused visit,” she says. “And after all, Rubio did meet the foreign minister in Mumbai.”
The meeting between the two foreign ministers at the Taj Hotel covered trade, investment, energy security and defence cooperation, according to official statements. India’s foreign ministry also said both sides welcomed progress in trade negotiations and reaffirmed their commitment to concluding a deal, which has long been in the works.
But once the diplomatic meetings were over, Rubio headed to Jamnagar, where the crown jewel of the Ambani business empire is located. This came to define the trip.
Shankar says the refinery visit “showed how much importance the US is attaching to getting more refined fuel into the market before the November midterms”.
Reliance’s Jamnagar complex can process about 1.4 million barrels of crude oil a day, roughly 1.5% of global refining capacity, according to the company website.
It is also a major exporter of diesel and other petroleum products, giving it a crucial role in global fuel markets.
During a tightly controlled visit on Wednesday, with limited media access, Rubio toured the facility and met members of the Ambani family, including Mukesh Ambani.
The company later released a statement, saying, “the visit included wide-ranging discussions on the global energy landscape and opportunities for commercial partnerships across conventional and new energy”. It, however, did not specifically address any commitments to buy crude oil or supply refined products.
Just a day earlier, while speaking to the press, Rubio had called India a “refining superpower” and said the US wanted Reliance to process more Venezuelan oil.
“They have the capability to refine heavy crude. They’ve done so in the past, and I think as more and more Venezuelan oil comes online, that’s something they could do,” he told reporters.
Rubio added that oil from Venezuela “can certainly provide relief” in the short term and can possibly help ease supply pressures amid tensions in the Middle East.
Reliance was once among the largest buyers of Venezuelan crude before US sanctions disrupted trade. After Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured in a US intervention earlier this year and Washington eased sanctions on the country’s energy sector, Reliance re-emerged as a major importer.
