New Delhi, Jul 22 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila on Wednesday to discuss priority areas including trade, tariffs, energy, defence, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence.

The US State Department said the two top diplomats agreed on the importance of finalising the interim India-US trade deal, which is "almost complete" and that they also discussed finalising "key defence agreements".

"Our relationship with India is vitally important," the US Secretary of State said after the meeting.

Jaishankar and Rubio also exchanged views on the West Asia crisis and the situation in Indo-Pacific.

The external affairs minister and the US secretary of state were in the Philippine capital to participate in high-level discussions under the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Quad grouping.

"Our meeting focused on areas which are priority for the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, including trade and tariffs, energy, defence and security, critical minerals and artificial intelligence," Jaishankar said on social media.

"We also exchanged quick perspectives on regional, global and multilateral issues of mutual interest," he said.

Rubio said he and Jaishankar discussed trade, defence agreements and regional security issues.

"We discussed regional security issues, the Quad, trade, and defence agreements," he said on X.

In a brief statement, the US State Department said Rubio and Jaishankar discussed recent developments in the Middle-East and the Indo-Pacific.

"The Secretary and Minister Jaishankar discussed finalising key defence agreements in fulfillment of commitments made between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi last year," it said without providing any details.

"The Secretary and Minister Jaishankar agreed on the importance of finalizing the interim trade deal, which is almost complete," it added.

The Jaishankar-Rubio meeting came over a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held talks on the margins of the G7 summit France's Evian-les-Bains.

The talks between the two leaders signalled their efforts to rebuild the India-US ties.

The relations witnessed a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India and Trump made controversial assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan military clashes in May last year.

Over the next few months, the US president repeatedly and publicly claimed that he had resolved the military conflict between the two neighbours and saved millions of lives as it was heading toward a full-scale war.

New Delhi stoutly maintained that the cessation of the hostilities was result of talks between India and Pakistan the US involvement had nothing to do with it.

Washington's new immigration policy and its decision to increase H1B visa fee also contributed to the slide in India-US ties.

However, both sides made efforts in the last few months to repair the ties and even moved forward to firm up a mutually beneficial trade deal soon.

In June, the relations came under fresh strain after three Indian sailors were killed following US military's attacks on three merchant vessel off the coast of Oman. PTI MPB ZMN

Interim trade deal negotiations near completion as bilateral discussions advance tariffs, defence agreements, strategic cooperation, and regional security. India-US bilateral engagement focused on advancing an interim trade arrangement reported to be nearing completion, alongside discussions on tariffs, energy, defence and security, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence. The talks included a shared interest in finalising the interim trade deal and completing unspecified defence agreements connected with prior bilateral commitments. Regional security, West Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and Quad cooperation were also discussed amid efforts to restore bilateral relations following trade, immigration, and security-related strains.