Secretary of State Marco Rubio closed his day in Mumbai with a big message about the future. Speaking Tuesday evening at a celebration of America’s 250th birthday, Rubio said the United States and India see eye to eye on the most powerful technology of our time. “On that issue, the United States and India is aligned. Perfectly aligned,” he said. “We view it the same way. We have the same expertise. We have the same talented people working on it, from engineers to creative thinkers and innovators.”

Rubio said the goal is to make superintelligence work for people. At its best, he said, technological advancement “allows us to do human things better.” “So the challenge we face is how do we harness the power of superintelligence? How do we harness the power of all of these things in a way that is beneficial? Understanding that there will be downsides to it, we have to mitigate the downsides, but we must dominate and accentuate the positive aspects of it.”

He tied it straight to trade and security. “No matter what you make, no matter what you innovate, it has to get from you to the places you’re sending it to,” Rubio said. “That requires free and unfettered ability to trade. That requires open sea lanes.” For America and India, that means “a free and secure Indo-Pacific, one in which no nation can claim dominance or ownership of international shipping lanes. On that issue, we are 100% and perfectly aligned.”

Rubio said the partnership is history in the making. “One day someone will write a book about the history of the 21st century,” he said. “The 21st century will be defined, for better and for worse, by what happens in this region.” He added: “I truly believe the relationship between the United States and India is defining … in a positive way, what the 21st century can look like.”

He called it the best way to mark America’s big birthday: finding partners around the world and, “by working together, take the things that made America exceptional as a nation and share” them. Earlier Tuesday, Rubio said a U.S.-India trade deal is “very, very close.” He left the crowd with a promise: “I’ll see you again in three months, because I’m coming now every three months.”