US says interim trade deal with India 'almost complete'
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday agreed on the importance of finalising the "almost complete" interim trade deal between the two countries during a meeting in Manila, the US State Department said. According to State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott, Rubio and Jaishankar also discussed recent developments in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. The meeting took place in Manila, where the two sides reviewed progress on bilateral cooperation and discussed defence and trade-related issues. Read: Trump likely to visit India early next year, Rubio says "The secretary and minister Jaishankar discussed finalising key defence agreements in fulfilment of commitments made between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi last year," Pigott said in a statement. He said the two leaders also "agreed on the importance of finalising the interim trade deal, which is almost complete". ...