Washington, June 3 (AHN) The United States and India are only weeks away from concluding a long-awaited trade agreement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Wednesday, signalling growing momentum in economic ties between the world's largest and oldest democracies.

Responding to questions about his recent visit to India during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Rubio said Washington and New Delhi were nearing completion of the pact.

"The hopes that we can wrap up the negotiations on our trade agreement, which we think were a few weeks away from being able to conclude," Rubio said, adding that "both sides want to see it done."

Rubio repeatedly highlighted India as an important strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific.

The secretary said his visit to India also included discussions with counterparts from the Quad, a grouping comprising India, the United States, Japan, and Australia.

"The Quad, an important alliance in the Indo-Pacific between India, Japan, Australia, we've had multiple meetings of that group, including a meeting just last week in India and a follow-up that's going to occur later this year, including a leaders meeting before the end of the year," Rubio told lawmakers.

He indicated that the four countries are moving beyond dialogue towards concrete projects, including enhanced maritime cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.

"One of the things we've agreed to work on is domain awareness, working together and pooling our resources so that we can have domain awareness about what's happening out in the sea," Rubio said. He cited the need to monitor shipping routes, undersea cables, and sanctioned vessels operating in the region.

Rubio also pointed to expanding cooperation in critical minerals and emerging technologies, areas increasingly viewed by Washington as central to economic and national security.

"We held a rare Earths ministerial that was attended by over 30 countries from around the world, all of which were signing up for an American-led effort to ensure that critical supplies of rare earth minerals around the world are available for our emerging economies, and we don't remain overly dependent on China," he said.

He further highlighted a new initiative known as "Pax Silica", involving 14 countries working together to secure supply chains linked to artificial intelligence.

"These are 14 countries that are cooperating with one another to protect the supply chains critical to AI and AI development in the future," Rubio said.