New Delhi: Indian cooperation could be ‘very relevant’ in the fight against the Islamic State, the White House said, even though it accepted that the counter-terrorism discussion between the two countries was mainly focused on terrorist outfits in South Asia.

“In terms of our (counter-terrorism) cooperation with India, it has been very focused in this part of the world and the different terrorist organisations that operate here in South Asia, be it al Qaeda, be it LeT, or others,” the Deputy National Security Adviser, Ben Rhodes, told reporters at a news conference here on the second day of President Barack Obama's India visit to attend the Republic Day celebrations.

“We do think there is space for cooperation with India on issues like foreign fighters, on issues like terrorist travel and financing. That could be very relevant to the ISIL campaign,” Rhodes said in reply to a question.

“That will look very different from a country that is providing military resources or training forces on the ground, but it’s still a valuable contribution in terms of counter-terrorism,” he said.