New York, Sep 23 : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declared that India is of 'critical' value to his country and welcomed its ongoing interaction in trade, according to the State Department.

After he met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday, 'reiterating that India is a relationship of critical importance to the United States', Rubio 'expressed his appreciation for the Indian government's continued engagement on a number of issues including trade, defense, energy, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and other items related to the bilateral relationship', the Department said in a readout of their meeting.

They 'agreed the United States and India will continue working together to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including through the Quad', it said.

The reaffirmation of India's importance for the US comes after US President Donald Trump reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to greet him on his 75th birthday after imposing a total of 50 per cent tariffs on India and weeks of harsh statements about India.

Significantly, the meeting with Jaishankar was the first official meeting of the day for Rubio, who is making a round of bilaterals with world leaders here for the high-level General Assembly session.

Jaishankar posted on X, "Our conversation covered a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern. Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas".

He added that they would stay in touch.

Before going into the conference room with a table decked with flowers and flags, they made a cordial appearance before the media waiting outside and shook hands, but refused to answer questions.

Later, Jaishankar met with the US ambassador-designate to India, Sergio Gor.

The State Department said on X, 'They look forward to further promoting the success of the U.S.-India relationship'.

Gor will also be Trump's Special Envoy for South and Central Asia.

The appointment of Gor needs approval by the Senate, like all ambassadorial positions.

In another sign of movement in the two countries' attempts to reset their relations, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in New York to negotiate the first tranche of a trade agreement between the two sides, sources told IANS.

Both sides remain hopeful of reaching an interim understanding soon, the sources added.

Despite differences on trade and Russian oil purchases, the two nations have strong common interests at the strategic level, exemplified by the Quad, the four-nation group that also includes Australia and Japan and is focused on the Indo-Pacific.

Rubio made a reference to the Quad.

After flinging invectives at India, such as calling its economy 'dead', Trump posted on Truth Social after his birthday call to PM Modi, 'He is doing a tremendous job. Narendra: Thank you for your support on ending the War between Russia and Ukraine'.

PM Modi thanked him and said on X, 'Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights'.

The two countries resumed their negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with a meeting in New Delhi between Assistant US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch and Commerce Ministry Special Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, paving the way for the Goyal-Greer meeting.

/IANS