India, Oct. 19 -- United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said Washington was "very close" to finalising a trade deal with India, adding that it was one of the things taken into consideration when making decisions on national security waivers.

"We're trying to finalize a trade deal with India right now. We're very close to doing that. So that's one of the things we take into consideration when the President makes a decision about national security waivers and things of that nature," Rubio said while speaking to reporters in Samarkant, Uzbekistan.

The US Secretary of State is scheduled to travel to India on Tuesday, and will hold a meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai.

Rubio said America has "had ...