PM Modi to speak at India Ideas Summit, seek better ties with the US

Modi will be speaking a day after three of his ministers told participants about what the government has done to help businesses

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to seek American investment for India when he speaks at a business summit Wednesday evening, listing his government's steps to lift an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Modi will address the ‘India Ideas Summit’ at 9 pm through video conferencing, speaking a day after three of his ministers told participants about what the government has done to help businesses.

“Looking forward to addressing the #IndiaIdeasSummit, organised by @USIBC today at 9 PM. Will be sharing my views on ‘Building a Better Future.’ Do watch,” Modi said on Twitter about the event organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC).

India is wooing American companies with their manufacturing base in China, which has come under international scrutiny for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

India and the United States are closing in on a trade deal, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, after two years of negotiations. "In the long term, I believe we have a quick trade deal which has some of the pending matters built up over the last couple of years, which we need to get out of the way quickly. We are almost there," Goyal said at the summit through videoconferencing.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said green shoots were visible in the economy and agriculture was driving growth. “We have kept all options necessary absolutely open. The government is willing to participate, talk to everybody and see what best has to be done. Interventions can happen even in future, depending on how industry responds to us,” Sitharaman said.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said India is the world’s fastest growing economy and they can reap rich dividends by investing in infrastructure, small businesses, banks, and shadow banks.

The theme for this year’s India Ideas Summit is ‘Building a Better Future’ and it "will witness discussions on areas including India-US cooperation and the future of the relation between the two counties in a post-pandemic world,” said a release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

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