Secretary of State Marco Rubio met the president of Honduras, Nasry Asfura, in Washington on Friday. He thanked him for what the State Department called Honduras’ “steadfast partnership on shared defense, security, and immigration priorities.”

Mr. Rubio praised Mr. Asfura’s leadership in the Shield of the Americas and the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, according to a summary from the department’s spokesman. He also recognized the Honduran government for recently naming the MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs as terrorist associations.

The two leaders talked about growing trade between their countries and U.S. investment in Honduras, the State Department said. Mr. Rubio said again that the United States supports the Honduran people as they face a drought caused by El Niño. Both leaders committed to “deepening cooperation for a safer, stronger, and more prosperous hemisphere.”

It was the first meeting between the two men since Mr. Asfura took office on Jan. 27, the EFE news agency reported. Mr. Asfura ran for the conservative National Party. He won the presidency with President Donald J. Trump’s public backing. Mr. Rubio first met him on Jan. 12, when he was president-elect.

In February, Mr. Trump welcomed Mr. Asfura at Mar-a-Lago along with other leaders of the Shield of the Americas, EFE reported. That is a group of governments across the region that have lined up with the White House’s priorities.

Mr. Asfura also traveled to Washington on March 6. That day he made official Honduras’ return to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, part of the World Bank Group.