India, Dec. 11 -- Amid growing speculation about a breakthrough on a long-pending trade deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held a phone conversation on Thursday, reviewing the state of India-US ties and discussing ways to deepen cooperation across several strategic sectors.

According to an official statement, the two leaders assessed progress in the partnership and explored avenues to expand collaboration in trade, critical technologies, energy, defence and security.

The statement highlighted their commitment to work closely to address challenges and advance shared interests under the India-US COMPACT framework - a 21st-century initiative aimed at accelerating military partnership, commerce and technology c...