US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo begins four-day visit to India

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is visiting New Delhi between 7 and 10 March to strengthen bilateral trade and business ties.
 

During the visit, India-US Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum will be held on Friday to discuss cooperation in various sectors that could unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. It will be co-chaired by Raimondo and her Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal.

The last India-USA Commercial Dialogue was held in February 2019. Since then, due to pandemic and other factors it could not be held.

“It is proposed to re-launch the Commercial Dialogue with a strategic outlook with focus on supply chain resiliency and diversification and new emerging areas, after a gap of three years,” an official statement said.

The Commercial Dialogue includes regular government-to-government meetings held in conjunction with private sector meetings, to facilitate trade, and maximise investment opportunities across various economic sectors.

In November, both sides had done a soft launch of the India-US CEO Forum was soft-launched virtually. Key priorities were identified, such as increasing supply chain resilience, enhancing energy security and reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, advancing inclusive digital trade and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for small businesses.

The US is India’s largest exporter and trade partner, while India is the ninth largest trading partner for the US. Bilateral merchandise trade during April-November stood at $87.33 billion

Both nations aim to achieve bilateral trade of $500 billion by 2025.

The US is also the third biggest source of FDI for India, and is one of the top five investment destinations for India.