New Delhi: After a rocky last 12 months, the US and India are trying to stabilize ties, with visiting Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and inviting President Donald Trump to visit the US “in the near future”. As the two sides discussed the situation in West Asia, according to the US readout, Rubio stressed that the US will not let Iran hold the global energy market hostage and affirmed that US energy products have the potential to diversify India’s energy supply. Speaking at a US Embassy event later, Rubio, who will attend the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting on Tuesday, also said the India-US relationship “is the cornerstone of our vision for the Indo-Pacific”. The announcement about the invitation was made by US Ambassador Sergio Gore, who accompanied Rubio on what he described as a “productive” discussion with Modi on ways to deepen US-India cooperation in security, trade and critical technologies – areas that “strengthen both our countries and advance a free and open Indo-Pacific”. Although India is open to the idea of ​​Modi visiting the US, it is learned that the government will wait to get more information from Washington about the possible schedule of the visit. Modi may in any case travel to Florida for the G20 summit, which will be hosted by the US in December this year. Officials are tight-lipped on what the invitation could mean for the Quad summit, for which Trump’s presence in India has been long awaited. The Indian readout or Modi himself did not mention the invitation. “India is an important partner of the United States,” Gore said in a post on Twitter after the meeting. Rubio said he also discussed efforts to secure energy and supply chains with Modi. According to an Indian readout, Rubio also briefed Modi on the US perspective on regional and global issues, including the situation in West Asia. It said Modi reiterated India’s continued support for peace efforts and called for peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy. Rubio’s visit comes amid hectic efforts to secure a US-Iran peace deal, and the threat of imminent US military action if these efforts fail. “Delighted to welcome US Secretary of State Mr. Marco Rubio. We discussed the continued progress in the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and issues related to regional and global peace and security. India and the United States will continue to work together for global good,” Modi said in a post on Twitter. The Indian readout also said Rubio briefed Modi on “continued progress in bilateral cooperation” across a range of areas, including defence, strategic technologies, trade and investment, energy security, connectivity, education and people-to-people ties. Rubio began his visit to India in the morning from Kolkata, before reaching Delhi for a scheduled meeting with Modi in the afternoon. His bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to be held on Sunday. At the US Embassy event, she recalled that her first assignment as Secretary of State was the meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers. “And we were going to renew it. We wanted to do it here, not only because of our commitment to that structure of work, but as a concrete signal of how important a role India plays in the United States and in our approach, and our approach to the Indo-Pacific,” Rubio said, adding that this commitment was implicit in the relationship between Modi and Trump. Rubio said, “The relationship between the leaders is incredibly important. These are two very serious leaders who are focused not just on the short-term, but the long-term. And so, I think that’s important to note, because it’s an important part of the foundation of the relationship between our countries.”