US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said only a small number of items remain to close the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US, according to The Hindu, and expressed hope it will be sealed shortly.

Rubio urged India to scale up energy trade with the US and increase purchases of American technologies and systems, according to the paper. Both sides welcomed progress in the negotiations and reaffirmed their commitment to working toward an early conclusion, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) cited in the report.