The India-USA Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking with an aim to facilitate trade, and maximize investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors…reports Asian Lite News
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will participate in the India-USA Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum in New Delhi on March 10 in a bid to unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.
The last India-USA Commercial Dialogue was held in February 2019. It is being held after a gap due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors.
“It is proposed to re-launch the Commercial Dialogue with strategic outlook with focus on supply chain resiliency & diversification and new emerging areas, after a gap of three years,” India’s Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Monday as it announced the US Commerce Secretary’s visit.
The India-USA Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking encompassing regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings, with an aim to facilitate trade, and maximize investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors, the ministry noted.
The India-US CEO Forum was soft-launched by Goyal and Raimondo via video conferencing on November 9, 2022. The key priorities identified for the forum were increasing supply chain resilience, enhancing energy security & reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, advancing inclusive digital trade; and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for small businesses.
“This is an optimistic time for U.S.-India relations, and I am excited to visit India during such a special time of year, the celebration of Holi,” said US Secretary of Commerce Raimondo.
“Through the CEO Forum, the Commercial Dialogue, and IPEF, we are making excellent progress in bringing our countries closer together by creating new markets for trade, expanding those that already exist, and reinforcing our shared commitment to democracy,” she was quoted as saying by the US Department of Commerce.
According to the US Department of commerce, Secretary Raimondo will convey the importance that the Biden Administration places on U.S.-India relations and emphasize the significant opportunity to deepen commercial ties between the two countries. It added that this trip comes on the heels of last month’s successful special negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in New Delhi, which was attended by senior U.S. Department of Commerce officials.
Trade, Commerce and Economy had always enjoyed a place of prominence in the India-US multifaceted strategic bilateral relations and the two countries are leading trading partners of each other. According to official data, India is the ninth largest trading partner for the US, while the US is India’s largest trading partner and the largest export destination.
According to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the bilateral trade in goods saw very robust growth during CY 2022, surpassing $131 billion in goods, thus doubling since 2014 (in 8 years); the total trade in Goods and Services is expected to cross US$ 180 billion. The US is also the third biggest source of FDI for India while the US is one of the top five investment destinations for India.
“This visit will immensely contribute towards furthering trade and commercial ties between the two countries,” the ministry added. (India News Network)