Trump travelling to attend 'Howdy Modi!' event signifies importance of India-US relationship: USIBC

Nisha Biswal, president of US India Business Council (USIBC) on Saturday (local time) said that US President Donald Trump travelling to Texas to be a part of mega 'Howdy Modi' event signifies the importance of its relationship with India.

Biswal, who is also the former US Assistant Secretary of State told ANI, "This visit to Texas is a very important one. The fact that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is here, that he is going to a roundtable with energy companies, talk about the US-India energy trade... the fact that he is going to be addressing a gathering of more than 50,000 Indian-American community and the President of US is travelling to Texas to be a part of all of that is an indication of how important the India relationship is and how important we are for each other's economy."

While referring to the cuts in corporate tax recently announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in India, Biswal said, "I think that its a very competitive environment all over the world and India is taking steps including the announcements by the Finance Minister yesterday. India is taking steps to make itself more competitive. More needs to be done. The more competitive that India is, the more attractive it will be in terms of trade and investment."

On being asked if she thinks that India can take advantage of the ongoing tussle between US-China on trade, she said, "They should certainly make a big effort to do so. You have political stability and durability in India."

Meanwhile, Jiten Agarwal, CEO of the Expedian group and one of the organisers of the mega event, said that the Indian American community is looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister for the event.

"I am an Indian-American community member here in Texas. I serve on several non-profit boards here and I have been contributing my bit to the 'Howdy Modi' event and to welcome the Prime Minister over here," Agarwal told ANI.

He said that the 'Howdy, Modi!' event is very significant as it is going to give a very strong signal to the world that India and US going to have a strong relationship in future.

"Indian-American community is looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi over here. This is going to be a historic event. There are more than 50,000 people who will be present at the stadium celebrating the Prime Minister. There is going to be a 90-minute cultural programme on Indian heritage," he said.

However, Agarwal also expressed his concern about the Indian economy while acknowledging that the Prime Minister is making a lot of effort to improve the business condition in India.

"I am a bit worried about the Indian economy. I know Prime Minister Modi has been trying to do a lot of work for the ease of doing business in India but I still think there is a long way to go," he said.

Upon arriving at the airport in Houston, Prime Minister Modi was received by Director of Trade and International Affairs, Christopher Olson and other officials. US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster and Indian Ambassador to the US, Harsh Vardhan Shringla were also present.

Modi will have a round table meeting with the CEOs of oil sector companies on the first day of his arrival in the US.

On September 22, Modi will deliver his address at 'Howdy Modi', which will also be attended by US President Donald Trump. Around 50,000 people from the Indian-American community are expected to attend the event.