Obama, Modi committed to increasing bilateral trade five-fold: Nisha Biswal

US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have committed to increasing bilateral trade five-fold, said Nisha Desai Biswal, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the US Department of State.

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"With India fast becoming one of the largest and most diversified markets in the world, President Obama and Prime Minister Modi have committed to increasing bilateral trade fivefold - from 100 billion to 500 billion dollars," Biswal said.

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She said, "The US and India have added a separate commercial track to our annual U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, providing an opportunity for our senior-most economic officials to explore how we can improve connectivity, enhance investment, make doing business easier, and ultimately reach that 500 billion dollar mark."

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She listed reasons why the US was the largest and the most dynamic economy.

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The US has "a strong regulatory system that rewards entrepreneurship, protects innovation, and propels the best ideas to market", Biswal said.

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She added, "The US knows well that few can match the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian people - some 15 percent of start-ups in Silicon Valley have been founded by Indians and Indian Americans - a community that makes up just 1 percent of the U.S. population."

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She also said that India would soon have the world's largest and youngest population.

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"India needs to create about one million jobs every month for the next 20 years and provide skills training for a 400 million-strong workforce," said Biswal.

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She said, "The Indian government's vision for its ambitious "Make in India" initiative is to create millions of new jobs in the manufacturing sector, which will require India's economy to be better integrated into global supply chains, markets, and trade."

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She said, "For India to achieve its goal of sustainable growth and development, it must assure global markets and international investors that it is open for business."

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"India will soon transition from being a net user of technology to a net producer," she said.