Analysis: Jakub Graca; data collection: Mania Czmochowska graphic design: Natalia Matiaszczyk
During his first six months as US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio made ten official trips abroad, visiting more than twenty countries on four continents (North America, South America, Europe, and Asia). At least one visit (to Japan and South Korea) was to be canceled. In addition, Rubio hosted his counterparts from dozens of countries in Washington, with two meetings being of particular importance (within the Quad format in January and July).
Two visits (including the first one in early February) concerned Central American countries, Guyana, and Suriname, which shows the priority given by US diplomacy to the goal of stopping illegal immigration to the US. Due to his Cuban origins and knowledge of Spanish, Rubio is particularly qualified to deal with this area of the world.
Outside of Central America, Guyana, and Suriname, Rubio made only a few visits of a typically bilateral nature (Israel, UAE, France). All other trips to Europe and Asia had a broader format: Rubio accompanied Donald Trump on three occasions (to the Arabian Peninsula in May, to the G7 summit in Canada in June, and to the NATO summit in The Hague, also in June) and participated in several meetings within international formats (at the Munich Security Conference in February, at the meeting of G7 foreign ministers in March in Canada, at meetings at the same level within NATO in April in Brussels and in May in Turkey, and at the ASEAN summit in July in Malaysia). In addition, he took part in two rounds of talks on Russia’s war against Ukraine in Saudi Arabia (once with the Russian side and once with the Ukrainian side) and in the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican.
Marco Rubio’s role in Donald Trump’s Middle East policy was significant from the outset but limited by the role of Steve Witkoff, whom Trump appointed as his special envoy for the Middle East. Witkoff reports only to the president, bypassing the Secretary of State, although the two officials work closely together. At first, Witkoff was involved in finding a solution to the war in Gaza, but over time he also chaired US-Iranian negotiations and participated in negotiations with Russia, both as part of Rubio’s team in Saudi Arabia and alone with the Russian side in Moscow.
It is somewhat disappointing that Rubio’s visit to Japan and South Korea, planned for early July, was canceled—reportedly because it was impossible to reconcile the trip with his commitments related to the situation in the Middle East. In June, there were reports that Japan had canceled the regular ministerial-level 2+2 dialogue with the US (foreign and defense ministers from both sides) scheduled for July. Although Rubio has met with his counterparts from Japan and South Korea several times so far, mainly on the sidelines of international forums and summits—which means that frequent consultations take place—there are suspicions that the cancellation of the planned meetings is related to pressure that the US is exerting on its Asian allies to significantly increase defense spending.
Rubio’s visit to the ASEAN summit in Malaysia in July was significant, as he had the opportunity to meet with his counterparts not only from Japan and South Korea but also with representatives of other countries in the region (e.g., Malaysia and the Philippines), including his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. After the meeting, the US side issued a brief and general statement emphasising the importance of maintaining open channels of communication, a pragmatic approach to mutual relations, seeking areas of potential cooperation, and striving to manage differences. In a statement to the media, Rubio assessed that the chances of a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this year are high. In addition, the Secretary of State also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia, but the State Department did not issue a statement after that meeting, and Rubio’s comments to the press were too vague to assess the value of the meeting.
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