Did Ajit Doval Meet Marco Rubio Last September? MEA Reacts To Reports Of Trade Deal Remarks

Last Updated:February 05, 2026, 14:18 IST

NSA Ajit Doval assured Marco Rubio that India has faced difficult US administrations in the past and was ready to wait out Trump’s term for a trade deal.

NSA Doval conveyed to US Secretary of State Rubio that New Delhi was ready to endure a tough Trump administration to protect long-term trade interests. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday dismissed a report by Bloomberg on the meeting between Security Adviser Ajit Doval and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in September last year.

“I would like to say that there is absolutely no basis for this report. No such meeting or no such visit has taken place," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi while responding to a question on the report.

As per the Bloomberg report, Doval told Rubio that India would not be bullied by President Donald Trump and was prepared to wait out his tenure if necessary.

On Monday, Trump announced that he had reached a trade agreement with PM Modi under which US tariffs on Indian goods would fall to 18 per cent. A punitive 25 per cent duty imposed on India for buying Russian oil was also scrapped.

In return, Trump claimed India had agreed to purchase $500 billion worth of US goods, switch to buying Venezuelan oil, and reduce tariffs on American imports to zero. Neither side has released any formal documentation to codify the agreement.

India-US relations had begun to spiral downward earlier in the year after Trump claimed credit in May for resolving a four-day clash between India and Pakistan, a claim that the Indian Army and PM Modi rejected.

PM Modi later declined Trump’s request to visit the White House when the US President hosted the Pakistani leadership there.

The arrival of new US Ambassador Sergio Gor in New Delhi in December helped inject fresh momentum into efforts to repair ties. Gor, a former senior White House official and a close associate of both Trump and Rubio, has repeatedly emphasised the importance of the India-US relationship.

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