US President Donald Trump on Wednesday told reporters at the G7 meeting in France that he had a "very good" conversation with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding the two countries are working on trade deals.

Trump called Modi a "tough negotiator," and said he will be going to India "sometime in the future."

India has been pressing the United States for months for a Trump trip, potentially as part of a meeting including Japan and Australia.

Modi told Trump that the safety of Indian seafarers working in the Strait of Hormuz area was of "utmost importance" to New Delhi.

The meeting came days after three Indian seafarers were killed on board a merchant ship in a US military strike.

The prime minister also commended Trump for his leadership in rekindling the hope for peace and progress in West Asia.

"We have always said that there should be freedom of navigation...Lakhs of Indian seafarers operate in the maritime trade sector. I believe that their security is equally important. I am confident that the deal (with Iran) will have provisions for the security of the seafarers," Modi said in his media comments.

Trump described the meeting as "great" as heaped praise on Modi.

"I think India plays a big role in everything as long as he (PM Modi) is the leader. India is going to play a big role," Trump said in response to a question on whether New Delhi has a role to play in West Asia.

"As long as I am at the White House, India has a friend in the US," he said, answering a question on the strain in India-US ties.