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Kolkata, May 23 (PTI) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Mother House, the headquarters of Saint Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, here on Saturday.

Rubio arrived in Kolkata this morning, marking the opening leg of his maiden four-day visit to India, and was welcomed by US Ambassador Sergio Gor at the city airport.

He visited the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity and spoke with its officials.

The Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa in Kolkata, is a Catholic congregation dedicated to serving the poor, sick and destitute across the world.

Rubio's arrival in the eastern metropolis ended a 14-year gap since a US secretary of state last visited the city. It also came only weeks after West Bengal witnessed a major political transition with a BJP-led government assuming office.

In a post on X, Gor, the US Ambassador to India, said, "Secretary Marco Rubio has landed in Kolkata. This is his first trip to India. Later today, we will call on Prime Minister @narendramodi in New Delhi. Trade, Technology, Defense, QUAD, and many other items to discuss and advance over the next few days!" Rubio became the first US secretary of state to visit Kolkata since Hillary Clinton travelled to the city in May 2012.

The US Department of State said Rubio would also visit the Children's Home in the city during his Kolkata stopover.

Rubio's India itinerary, scheduled from May 23 to 26 and also covering Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi, is being viewed as diplomatically significant because of planned energy discussions with India and meetings involving ministers from the Quad nations. 

(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)