Announcements at USIBC meet to bolster US-India economic relations, says board

Washington: The announcements made by several American companies, including the manufacture of Pixel Phones by Google in India, during the just concluded Global Board of Directors Mission will further drive the bilateral relationship between both countries and unlock long-term growth, the US India Business Council (USIBC) said.

The “landmark investment and manufacturing announcements” by USIBC Global Board companies during the three-day event beginning October 17 “will further unlock India's long-term growth, empower the next generation of homegrown talent, and reinforce the flourishing economic linkages between the US and India, the world's oldest and the largest democracies,” USIBC said on Thursday.

Held on the heels of India's historic hosting of the G20 last month and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the United States in June, the USIBC Mission saw over thirty industry-leading executives and high-level representatives from the US and India partake in substantial meetings and commercial diplomacy across New Delhi and Mumbai, as well as additional programming in GIFT City, Gujarat.

The delegation held a meeting with top Indian leadership including Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr V Anantha Nageswaran and Chairperson of the Securities & Exchange Board of India, Madhabi Puri Bach.

The USIBC also held meetings with the US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis.

"Their dedication to advancing the US-India comprehensive global and strategic partnership is commendable and reaffirms our shared commitments as stewards to strengthening the enduring bond between our nations," said Ed Knight, USIBC Global Board of Directors Chairman & Executive Vice Chairman of NASDAQ.

Led by USIBC Global Board of Directors Chairman Edward Knight, Executive Vice Chairman of NASDAQ, and Amb. Atul Keshap, President of USIBC, the event showcased USIBC's commitment to serve as a robust platform for dialogue on economic, trade, and strategic cooperation between the US and Indian public and private sectors, the statement said.

The sessions covered a myriad of topics by business persons and officials from both hemispheres. The participants discussed boosting greater collaboration in the critical and emerging technologies that will shape the next century, as well as deepening access points and pipelines to venture capital and private equity to ensure India’s entrepreneurs, engineers, and innovators are backed by world-leading funding and support, the media release said.

Notably, the board meetings coincided with the October 19 announcement from USIBC Global Board company Google, which shared at their flagship Google for India event plans to manufacture Pixel phones in India.

The announcement builds on the momentum of a recent meeting between Modi and Google CEO Sundar Pichai in which Google reiterated its commitment to invest in India and bring Google’s latest AI technology and hardware devices to Indian citizens, the USIBC said.

Michaela Browning, Vice President and Head, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Asia Pacific region, part of this week’s USIBC delegation to India, stated this announcement demonstrates Google’s desire to be a trusted, responsible and valued partner in India's digital transformation journey, the media release said.

The USIBC Mission also met with executives of both GIFT City and the Adani Mundra Port, during a day-long trip to Gujarat and participated in the TechSurge Conference hosted by Celesta Capital and USIBC in New Delhi. TechSurge outlined an ambitious vision and roadmap for an upgraded bilateral partnership in deep tech, encompassing quantum, AI, defence, and secure supply chain technologies.

Across three days of meetings, the directors stressed the mounting importance of the US-India relationship. On the economic front, pockets of economic stagnation and inflationary pressures mean the world will increasingly look to the Indian and American economies as promising long-term growth engines.

“Geopolitically, the directors emphasised India and the United States as joint pillars of stability in a fraying international system, including within the Indo-Pacific region through shared forums like the Quad Security Dialogue between the US, Japan, Australia, and India; as well as their shared responsibility in tackling global challenges in the Middle East through the India, Israel, UAE, US (I2U2) initiative,” the media release said.

The group welcomed the possibility of Prime Minister Modi hosting the leaders of the Quad nations to participate in India's Republic Day celebrations in January 2024.

Reflecting on the indelible ties between both governments, the board celebrated a year of bold and collaborative actions in New Delhi and Washington DC that have created new avenues for trade and investment and public-private exchanges.

“Carrying this momentum forward, the Board urged both governments to advance policy and regulatory structures that foster the uplifting and catalytic strength of the private sector in delivering results, and propelling the full potential of our combined 1.75 billion citizens,” it said.