Extraordinary momentum in the India-US bilateral ties
A new set of reforms and policy recommendations, deliberated jointly by business leaders at the India-US CEO Forum on 14 July 2020, have been made to further boost bilateral investment opportunities across key sectors of the Indian economy
The sectors included Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, Aerospace & Defence, Infrastructure & Manufacturing, Entrepreneurship & Promoting Small Businesses, Energy, Water & Environment, ICT and Digital Infrastructure, Financial Services, Trade & Investments, among others.
The recommendations were presented at the forum convened since its reconstitution in December 2014 by the Governments of India and the USA.
The Forum, fifth in the series, is an effective platform to highlight key issues that affect business entities and to identify areas for closer collaboration for the mutual benefit of both economies.
The forum was co-chaired Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, and Wilbur Ross, US Secretary of Commerce.
Senior government functionaries, including Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Taranjit Sandhu, the Indian Ambassador to the US, and Kenneth Juster, the US Ambassador to India participated in the meeting.
The CEO Forum, comprising of CEOs from leading Indian and US-based companies, is co-chaired by Mr. N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and James Taiclet, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin.
CEOs from both sides commended the two governments for implementing reforms and enacting policy directives in line with the recommendations that were made during the previous CEO forum meeting held at New Delhi in February 2019.
Secretary Ross thanked Goyal and CEO forum members for their participation and initiative in strengthening the bilateral relationship, particularly during the challenging times of the Covid19 pandemic, which is also an opportunity to bring the two nations closer through collaboration in the area of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and associated supply chains.
Goyal reiterated the extraordinary momentum developed in the India-US bilateral ties, driven by strong shared interests in promoting global stability, security and economic prosperity.
He emphasized the importance of small businesses in the economies of both the countries and the need to increase employment and skilling in the sector.
He urged the Forum to be the leaders in charting out a new path in a post-COVID-19 world.
Taiclet hoped that the extraordinary cooperation between the two countries during the COVID-19 pandemic would continue in areas of building infrastructure, increasing bilateral investments, and generating jobs.
He highlighted the areas of unrestricted foreign ownership in certain sectors, policy stability and predictability, timely dispute resolution, protection of intellectual property and continuing investment in infrastructure as some of the key focus areas.
Chandrasekaran stressed the global efforts underway to rebalance global supply chains, due to both geopolitical and trade-related issues and welcomed the opportunity to partner with the US private sector and government to help support and facilitate a strong pivot to India.
He further highlighted the need for a Free Trade Agreement as a natural progression and outcome of the deepening commercial engagement between the two countries.
He also urged the US government to recognize the contribution of India’s human capital to the US economy, and the need for unhindered cross-border mobility of such talent.
Ambassador Juster highlighted to the Forum the vast untapped potential of the India-US commercial relationship, and the potential risk of inward-looking policies in a post-COVID-19 world.
He urged each working group in the Forum to offer a few policy level suggestions readily agreeable and actionable to both sides.
Ambassador Sandhu appreciated the crucial role played by the CEO Forum in shaping the India-US partnership by bringing in the private sector’s perspectives, with inputs that helped policy makers shape reforms.
The opening remarks were followed by the presentation of recommendations and suggestions by the co-chairs of each of the various working groups focusing on Healthcare& Pharmaceuticals, Aerospace &Defence, Infrastructure & Manufacturing, Entrepreneurship& Promoting Small Businesses, Energy, Water & Environment, ICT & Digital Infrastructure and Financial Services, Trade & Investment. #healthcare #Pharmaceuticals, #Aerospace #Defence #Infrastructure #Manufacturing #Entrepreneurship #Energy #Water #Environment #ICT #Digital #Financial #Trade #Investments /fiinews.com
