United States President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday discussed the situation in South Asia via a phone call, Times of India (TOI) reported.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," TOI reported on Friday, quoting a White House readout of the phone call.

The Maldives crisis was triggered by a surprise Supreme Court decision to release from jail former president and opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed and eight other political prisoners.

According to TOI, Trump and Modi also decided to continue working together on matters of security in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they [the two leaders] reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability," the White House was quoted as saying.

According to TOI, Modi and Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea, TOI said.

"Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April," the report added.

According the TOI, the '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would be held between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, TOI said.