New Delhi [India], February 20 (ANI): Highlighting the importance of the strategic alliance, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Friday said that the first meeting held by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after taking charge was with the QUAD, sending a strong message to the world.

Addressing a joint press conference along with US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg and US President's Science and Technology Advisor Michael Kratsios, Gor said the QUAD remains a top priority for Washington and that discussions are actively underway. He added that while he did not have exact dates, Secretary Rubio would be travelling to India in the coming months as part of QUAD-related engagements and other initiatives.

'The QUAD is very important. The first meeting that Secretary Rubio had was with the QUAD. And that sends a message to the world. He didn't meet with anyone else. It was the QUAD. So that's something we're fully engaged on. We're actively in talks. I don't have exact dates, but Secretary Rubio will be travelling to India very soon, in a matter of months. And so that'll be part of the QUAD, along with many other initiatives,' Sergio Gor told reporters.

He further said that the progress achieved through such partnerships is the result of efforts by hundreds and thousands of people across governments, and that the friendship and relationship between the two nations ultimately help deliver outcomes.

'Great question. Look, and the achievements, I appreciate your kind words, but it takes a lot of people. It's hundreds and thousands of people from across the government. It's the friendship and the relationship between our two nations that ultimately gets these things across the finish line,' said Gor.

Responding to a query on whether India's import of about 2 per cent oil from Venezuela would now be routed through the United States and whether the dynamics of direct imports had changed, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said that discussions were still underway and details had not yet been made public.

Gor said there are active negotiations on the issue and that the US Department of Energy is in talks with India's Ministry of Energy. He added that some aspects have not been announced yet, but expressed hope that there would be clarity soon.

Earlier on February 14, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) Leaders' Summit was 'not cancelled' because it had never been formally scheduled. While acknowledging that a leaders' meeting did not take place, he cautioned against overinterpreting that development.

He was responding to a question at the Munich Security Conference 2026 on whether the security grouping comprising India, the United States, Japan and Australia had lost momentum in the absence of a leaders' summit last year and whether the Quad's unity could be sustained under a second Trump administration.

'The fact that the QUAD did not take place at the summit level itself, I wouldn't overread it. So do stay tuned,' Jaishankar said.He underscored that beyond high-level political meetings, the Quad's various working groups and institutional mechanisms continue to function. 'The other parts of the Quad-the various mechanisms -all of those are going on,' he said, signalling that cooperation among the four countries remains intact.

India is supposed to host the next QUAD Leaders' Summit. (ANI)