Kerry in India_Aug2014
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) shake hands as they are flanked by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker (L) and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (R) at the Prime Minister's residence in New Delhi on Aug. 1, 2014. Reuters/Lucas Jackson

(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday that India's refusal to sign a global trade deal had sent the wrong signal, and urged New Delhi to work to resolve the row as soon as possible.

A World Trade Organization pact to ease trade collapsed on Thursday over India's demands for concessions on agricultural stockpiling.

"Failure to sign the Trade Facilitation Agreement sent a confusing signal and undermined the very image Prime Minister Modi is trying to send about India," a U.S. State Department official told reporters after Kerry's meeting with Modi.

Kerry was in New Delhi as part of an annual strategic dialogue to revitalize ties and lay the ground for Modi's visit to Washington in December.

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