Sushma Swaraj speaks with new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her US counterpart Rex Tillerson on Wednesday agreed to work closely to deepen Indo-US strategic ties and intensify counter-terror, defence and security cooperation during their first telephonic conversation.

The two leaders also agreed to follow-up the firm resolve expressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump to cooperate closely in the global fight against terrorism, the MEA said tonight.

“The External Affairs Minister and Secretary Tillerson resolved to work together closely to further expand and deepen the multi-faceted strategic partnership between India and the US,” it said.

“They emphasised that close and strong relations between India and the US were not only in mutual interest but also had regional and global significance. In this context, they agreed to intensify cooperation in various sectors, including defence and security, energy, and economy,” it added.

This was Swaraj’s first telephonic conversation with 64-year-old Tillerson, who took over as new US Secretary of State early this month.