India-US December dialogue to boost commerce: Prabhu

Stressing the critical importance of the United States as a strategic trade partner for India, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Friday a vital India-US Strategic Commercial dialogue will be held in New Delhi in December which will help boost commercial ties between the two nations.

"The US Commerce Secretary and a high-level delegation from the US will come to have detailed discussions with their Indian counterparts to strengthen the commerce tie-up and chart the future agenda for both nations," Prabhu said.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the annual convention of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), here on the theme "Indo-US Economic Relations: Building a Durable Partnership".

Prabhu said India has identified key industries and sector where it can work in tandem with the US and utilise their high-end technology.

In this connection, he said the government will unveil the new industrial policy soon.

"A key thrust in the proposed policy, which will replace the Industrial Policy of 1991, is to reduce regulatory hurdles and encourage adoption of technologies of future such as robotics and artificial intelligence," Prabhu added.

Referring to the US sanctions on steel and aluminium importing countries, he said India responded in a measured way by not levying any retaliatory duties and instead had positive discussions with the US counterparts on the issue.

He stressed the role of organisations like IACC which play a vital role in boosting trade and commerce ties between the two countries.

Addressing the gathering, US Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster said India could seize the strategic opportunity, through trade and investment, to become an alternative hub for the US business in the US-Pacific region.

Juster stressed that further opening India's market to US trade and investment would spur the collaboration between the two countries on many emerging technologies that will drive and protect our economies, including those related to advanced manufacturing, cyber security and artificial intelligence.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Law & Justice P.P. Chaudhary said cooperation in the field of science and technology between the scientific communities of both countries is a pillar of vibrant India-US relationship.

"American cooperation in this field will catalyse India's start-up ecosystem. This area is also the key driver for innovation and job creation in both the countries and hence, it needs to take the centre stage", he said.

The Minister added that collaboration in information technology, nano-and gene-editing technology will have positive impact on the education sector and the knowledge generated through mutual cooperation needs to be capitalised to fuel innovation and to create entrepreneurial class.

Expressing that both India and the US are fully committed to clean energy, Chaudhary said India looks forward to full implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and Westinghouse Electric Company for setting up six nuclear power plants in India.

Once operational, these nuclear power plants would go a long way in resolving the country's energy woes and help conserve the environment.

Now celebrating its golden jubilee, the IACC meet was attended by its President Vasant Subramanyan, US Consul-General in Mumbai Edgard D. Kagan, IACC Executive Vice President Lalit Bhasin, and IACC officials Nanik Rupani, Rajyalakshmi Rao and Madhulika Gupta.

The IACC, founded in 1968, has 12 branches in India with 2,400 members working towards the objective of promoting business, trade and economic ties between the two countries by facilitating collaborations, joint ventures, marketing tie-ups, strategic alliances and other initiatives.

Besides Mumbaithe , IACC operates from 12 locations including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Kochi, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Varanasi and Patna.

--IANS

qn/nir