India, US discuss ways to strengthen critical minerals supply chain

Goyal and Raimondo also discussed opportunities to increase US investments in India, particularly in some of the new industrial cities being planned

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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in critical minerals supply chains with his US counterpart Gina Raimondo during the former’s visit to that country to discuss investment avenues in India, the department of commerce said on Thursday.

Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Raimondo on Wednesday also discussed opportunities to increase US investments in India, especially in some of the new industrial cities being planned in India. The US is India’s largest trade partner and export destination.

“The Minister of Commerce and Industry met with the US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo over a luncheon meeting and discussed areas of mutual interests. They discussed the pathway for strengthening bilateral cooperation in critical minerals supply chains as recommended by the US-India CEO Forum,” the statement said.

The India-US CEO Forum is a platform to allow private sector members to develop and provide recommendations to the Indian and US governments that reflect their views, concerns and suggestions, including creation of an environment in which the bilateral economic links are strengthened. The Forum works in tandem with, and provides inputs to, government-to-government US-India Commercial Dialogue.

Goyal is on a September 30 to October 4 visit the US to discuss investment avenues in India with leading American and Indian CEOs, as well as to co-chair the 6th India-US Commercial Dialogue meeting with his counterpart Raimondo.

The Forum is chaired jointly by Goyal and Raimondo. From the private sector, it is co-chaired by N Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Sons, and James Taiclet, president and CEO, Lockheed Martin. This is the third time the Forum has been convened since its reconstitution in November 2022.

“The CEOs, under the seven working groups, presented priority areas to create stronger partnerships and boost growth across various critical areas such as entrepreneurship and promoting small businesses, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defence, ICT and digital infrastructure, energy, water and environment, infrastructure and manufacturing, financial services, trade and investments, among others,” the statement said.