Secretary of State Marco Rubio And Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar At the Freedom 250 Reception

AMBASSADOR GOR:  Good evening, everybody, and welcome to this great celebration.  Secretary Rubio, Mrs. Rubio, Dr. Jaishankar, Secretary Misri, Chairman Jason Smith, distinguished guests, friends, and colleagues, it is a true privilege to be here with you as we celebrate 250 years of American independence.

There is no better place to mark this milestone than right here in India’s financial and cultural capital.  Looking out at this room, I see the leaders, innovators, and risk-takers who provide the drive and capital that power both of our nations.  More than 500 major American companies operate right here in beautiful Mumbai: tech giants like Google, Meta, and IBM; trusted household names like Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson; pharmaceutical leaders like Pfizer, Abbott, Merck; and the world’s premier financial institution, including Citi, Bank of America, and JPMorganChase. 

On Mumbai’s stock exchanges, American institutional investors represent the single largest bloc of foreign capital invested in Indian equities.  That is not an accident.  That is a massive vote of confidence in India’s economic trajectory.  None of this happened by accident, and none of it was built overnight.

Immediately following the American Revolution, U.S. merchant vessels set sail for Mumbai, trading American goods for Indian spices, textiles, and teakwood.  In 1792, President George Washington appointed our first consul to India.  And in 1838, President Martin Van Buren commissioned Philemon Parker as our first consul right here in Mumbai.  That represents 188 years of continuous diplomatic engagement and 250 years of commercial trade.  It proves that lasting partnerships are forged by people who cross oceans, take risks, innovate, and build something substantial. 

Mr. Secretary, having you and the great Jeanette Rubio back in India tonight underscores this steadfast emphasis the United States places on this relationship.  When President Donald Trump sent me to India, he gave me a direct mandate: deliver results.  Don’t just talk about the future; make it happen.  In their recent discussions, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed that commitment. 

Today, our bilateral trade has shattered records, reaching over $240 billion.  (Applause.)  And we have an ambitious goal.  We are laser-focused on driving that number past $500 billion in the next three years.  (Applause.) 

The commercial frontier ahead of us is unmatched, spanning semiconductors, critical minerals, energy, defense, and, of course, super intelligence.  U.S.-India partnership does not move in a flat line; it climbs.  It begins in the ocean depths with critical data infrastructure.  It rises through our factories, labs, and research hubs.  And it extends into deep space through commercial exploration.  That is the trajectory of our alliance, rooted deep in fundamentals, accelerating upward at record speed, and heading straight for the stars.

Two hundred fifty years after our founders declared independence, the United States continues to build, lead, and win.  Tonight, we celebrate 250 years of American freedom: the freedom to innovate, to compete, and to prosper.  We celebrate tonight alongside a friend with whom we share far more than common values.  The United States and India aren’t just strategic partners; we’re architects of the world of tomorrow, building the future of innovation, security, and prosperity together.  (Applause.) 

As the world’s oldest and largest democracies, we share a resolute foundation for cooperation, from trade and resilient supply chains to a free and open Indo-Pacific through the Quad.  In my travels across India, I’ve seen massive potential and an overwhelming drive for deeper ties with America.  It reinforces what I say everywhere I go:  The U.S.-India partnership is not just built in Delhi and Washington; it is built in Mumbai.  It is built in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, and the many cities that make India the engine of Indian prosperity. 

Before I introduce Secretary Rubio to the stage, I want to thank the extraordinary team who brought this evening to life today.  Please put your hands together to everybody who put a lot of effort into making this happen, to our benefactors and supporters who are here with us tonight.  (Applause.)  Let’s also give a huge round of applause to our very own U.S. Navy musicians, the talented members of the 7th Fleet Band, the Orient Express, who are also celebrating with us tonight.  (Applause.)  Thank you for bringing American music, your energy, and the spirit of the Indo-Pacific to Mumbai.  And thank you, Madhura Padave, for that wonderful rendition of India’s national anthem also.  (Applause.)

I want to bring up somebody who wakes up every morning and who looks out for a way to make the United States better, somebody who the President trusts, someone that the world seeks for his incredible judgement.  Please give a very warm welcome for the second time this year – and I promise you he will be back next year – to my great friend, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.  (Applause.)

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Sergio left his phone.  Should I read what’s on it or – (laughter).  You want to leave it here?  All right.

Well, thank you.  It’s a great honor to be back with all of you here today, and I say “be back” because I was just here three or four months ago.  And it’s interesting, when I was here three or four months ago Sergio threw a big 250 party in Delhi, and now we’re here, another 250 party in Mumbai, and I’m starting to think all our embassy does here is throw parties.  Every – (laughter) – but we’ll see what they come up with next year.  You can’t celebrate 251 the same way, it’s just not the same ring to it, but it is an honor to be back and I’m glad to be back.

I said earlier today – we had this press conference, we had members of the media there obviously, and they were asking – somebody asked the question:  Why are you back in India after just four months?  And I said, well, number one, it happens to be the most populous nation on Earth.  It happens to be the oldest democracy on Earth.  It happens to be such a strong geopolitical partner to the United States.  But here’s where I ended, by saying is – I actually think we don’t come enough.  I actually think we don’t come enough.  (Applause.)

And it’s not just for the parties.  (Laughter.)  Because if you think about the story and the history of the 21st century, it’s being written in this region and it’s being written right now.  One day someone will write a book about the history of the 21st century, and there will be a chapter in there about other regions in the world, but the 21st century will be defined, for better and for worse, by what happens in this region.  We know that.  We can sense it; we can feel it. 

And I just spoke to our team over at the consulate a few – about an hour ago, and I told them that.  I said sometimes when you’re living through history you don’t even realize you’re living through history, because it’s moving so fast and it’s happening so profoundly that sometimes you don’t stop and realize the moment that you’re in.  I truly believe that the relationship between the United States and India is defining in many ways, in a positive way, what the 21st century can look like.  (Applause.)

Now, just to prove to you that those are not idle words – because these are nice things to say in every country you go to, right?  But just to prove that those are not idle words, and I see the – our colleagues from Washington from the Congress are here.  They know these issues that are being debated, and I’m also very grateful they have a very strong congressional delegation here, a bipartisan congressional delegation.  Number one, I’m glad they’re here because they pass the budgets that fund all our agencies and – so don’t go back and say that all we do is throw parties, guys, because that’s – (laughter).  And – but the second is because they perceive it in Congress as well.

Think about the issues that today are dominating the world.  Number one, everyone recognizes that we are living through a moment of extraordinary technological innovation unlike anything man has ever seen.  We’ve seen technological advances in human history in the past.  We’ve seen what it does – it’s disruptive, positive and negative.  Industrialization was an incredible advance.  It pulled millions of people out of poverty.  It allowed countries to advance.  It had a positive impact.  It had some downsides to it too, and we spent decades dealing with it. 

Automation and the information age also had a dramatic – think about how we live life today compared to 20, 30, 40 years ago.  The immediate and instant access to information, immediate and instant access to each other and to people – this was revolutionary.  It had positives and it had negatives to it as well.  But what we are living through now – in the age of super intelligence, in the age of quantum computing – is moving faster than any technological advance in all of human history.  And at its best, technological advance, what it allows us to do as human beings is it allows us to do human things better.

And so the challenge we face is how do we harness the power of super intelligence.  How do we harness the power of all of these things in a way that is beneficial, understanding that there will be downsides to it?  We have to mitigate the downsides, but we must dominate and accentuate the positive aspects of it.  I say this to you because, on that issue, the United States and India is aligned, perfectly aligned.  We view it the same way.  We have the same expertise.  We have the same talented people working on it from engineers to creative thinkers and innovators.  We are aligned and we want to see a world in which super intelligence is used to the betterment of man and one in which the harms that it could cause are mitigated.

If you look at geopolitics, no matter what you make, no matter what you innovate, it has to get from you to the places you’re sending it to unless you only want to sell to your own economy.  That requires free and unfettered ability to trade.  That requires open sea lanes, as an example, and in particular for the United States and India, a free and secure Indo-Pacific.  (Applause).  One in which no nation can claim dominance or ownership of international shipping lanes.  On that issue we are 100 percent and perfectly aligned. 

I could go on and on, but the point is of course, no two nations on Earth will ever be perfectly aligned on every issue, and of course there will be times and points of disagreement.  But on the core issues that matter – the core issues that define the national interest of both India and the United States – the alignment between our countries is extraordinary, especially for two countries of this size, especially for two countries of this magnitude.  Because we can be aligned – and not that smaller countries don’t matter; of course they do.  But when you’re talking about a country that’s the – approximating 1.5 billion people and the largest economy in the world in the United States – when two powers like that can be aligned on these issues that are going to define the 21st century, then we have an opportunity together to write those pages in the history of the 21st century.

And so while today we celebrate here the 250th birthday of the United States for the 18th time here in India – (laughter) – but – I’m kidding.  They’ve only done it 12.  (Laughter.)  But – it’s a year-long celebration.  But while we’re here to commemorate and understand that, we also understand that what we are focused on collectively is not just to be proud of what America has achieved over 250 years, but we’re also here to celebrate what together we can achieve for the next 250 years.

The truth of the matter is that we are making decisions now in geopolitics and economics and trade and in commerce that will impact people that have not even been born, that will define the world in ways we cannot even fully comprehend or appreciate.  And what I’m excited about – what I challenge our team to be excited about at the Department of State; what I just challenged our team at the consulate here in Mumbai to be excited about – is be excited about the fact that today you are assigned to a place and you are working in a place where the United States is in partnership with another powerful, influential, and advanced country are helping to write the story of the 21st century in a way that betters the values that we share in common – values rooted in the dignity of the individual, values rooted in democratic principles, values rooted in the rule of law, and values always rooted in the belief that our job, for those who serve in public office, is to leave the next generation better off than ourselves.

And to me this is the best way to celebrate 250 years of the American miracle, is to find partners from around the world where together and working together we can take the things that made America exceptional as a nation and share it in partnership with friends like you.  And so we are grateful for the opportunity to be here tonight and to be with all of you.  I’ll see you again in three months because I’m coming now every three months, so thank you very much.  (Applause.)

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary and Ambassador Gor.  We are privileged this evening to also hear from India’s Minister of External Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Jaishankar.  (Applause.)

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER JAISHANKAR:  Secretary Marco Rubio, Mrs. Rubio, Chairman Jason Smith and members of the CODEL, Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Sergio Gor, dear friends, it’s a real pleasure to join you all in Mumbai at the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of American independence.  I’m glad that Secretary Rubio has come here, because Mumbai has both a special significance for India and a special place in our ties with the United States. 

Mumbai is of course India’s financial capital, but it is very much more than that.  Bollywood is an integral element of its personality.  Mumbai is a center of learning and a hub for research and for technology.  Its traditions of entrepreneurship are deeply linked to the trade that its ports service.  The ethos of this city has many expressions, be it in sports or culture, media, or music.  Most of all, this is a cosmopolitan city that serves as a gateway to the world, and it is one that is deeply invested in our relationship with the United States.  Therefore, Secretary Rubio, it is particularly fitting that you celebrate this important anniversary here in Mumbai.  (Applause.)

Now, Mumbai’s connect with America started, some of you would be aware, with what was called the ice trade, trading in ice.  Today it is very much at the heart of our financial, commercial, and technology ties.  There is so much about the past that can be cited in that regard: that Swami Vivekananda set out from here on his famous journey to Chicago; that Leon Abbey brought jazz to this city – in fact, Secretary, to the very hotel where you are staying; that General Electric reactors have long contributed to the to the energy requirements of this city; or that in fact Starbucks opened its first Indian outlet here.  And now that one of your leading cricketers – Secretary, you won’t be counted as a friend of India until you really understand cricket – so one of your leading cricketers, Saurabh Netravalkar, actually hails from Mumbai.  (Applause.) 

Friends, our ties have indeed come a long way.  History records that many Americans were supportive of India’s struggle for independence.  After that, whether it was infrastructure and education or food, agriculture, and technology, our partnership has made a real difference to India’s development.  Conversely, Indian talent and Indian skills have helped shape the tech era in the United States.  (Applause.) 

Of course, we’ve had our share of issues, including the manner in which we approach the world and its challenges.  But in the last few decades, our partnership has steadily expanded, acquiring new dimensions and new facets.  The Quad, Mission 500, Pax Silica, and the FORGE Initiative are among some of the notable examples.  And growth in the fields of energy, in defense, and civil aviation sectors have actually been striking. 

Now, like many other symbols of success and modernity, Mumbai too has been attacked by those who wish it ill.  The spirit of the Mumbaikar was demonstrated in the response to the 26/11 terrorist assault.  Six Americans also lost their lives at that time.  Secretary Rubio, all of Mumbai – and indeed, all of India – appreciates your laying a wreath today at the Taj Hotel’s 26/11 memorial.  (Applause.) 

India also welcomes this administration’s decision to extradite Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was one of the key culprits.  (Applause.) 

We are clear on the right to defend ourselves against terrorism and expect that our partners show zero tolerance towards terrorism as well.  (Applause.) 

As we mark this anniversary together, it is natural to reflect on the way ahead.  The world order is clearly in transition, and countries are responding accordingly.  Each one of us – each one of us – will naturally pursue our national interest.  In such an era, expanding our convergence is key to deepening our ties.  There are new opportunities in our partnership in trade, investment, technology, and energy, and these await us.  We have a shared stake in strengthening peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.  Engaging regularly and identifying common interests will certainly help provide a pathway. 

So, your presence here, Secretary Rubio, and the discussions that we’ve had earlier in the day hold great value.  So let me conclude by reiterating India’s best wishes to the United States on this landmark anniversary and, while doing so, reaffirm our commitment – our continued commitment – to advance the India-U.S. strategic partnership.  I thank you.  (Applause.) 

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Your Excellency, for your incredible and inspiring words.  Ladies and gentlemen, please prepare your glasses as Ambassador Gor offers a toast to America.

AMBASSADOR GOR:  I want to thank everyone for being here.  If you’re in this room, it’s because you care about this relationship.  What we have seen over the nextArticle page 250 years has been incredible.  What we hope to see over the next 250 years will be even more incredible.  So please join me in raising a glass to the next 250 years of America, and happy birthday, USA.  Cheers.  (Applause.) 

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