The US, which is currently working overtime to get the civilian nuclear accord with India approved by the Congress, is engaging the South Asian country on a number of issues, the White House has said.

"We're working with India on a variety of things, including the civil nuclear agreement," the Press Secretary Dana Perino [Images] said in Washington on Tuesday at her daily briefing.

Perino was asked if Washington would seek India's cooperation in the war in Afghanistan during talks with the visiting Indian Defence Minister A K Antony.

Refusing to divulge any details, she said, the civilian nuclear agreement was among a number of issues that are being discussed between the two countries.

Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday met his US counterpart Robert Gates to discuss ways to deepen the bilateral security cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Antony, currently on a four-day visit in Washington, was accorded a ceremonial welcome before he began his first official programme with talks with Gates at the Pentagon.