US-India CEO Forum reaffirms commitment to expanding bilateral trade, commerce

Washington: The US-India CEO Forum has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding bilateral trade and commerce, driving inclusive economic growth and innovation, and fostering a resilient partnership.

The Forum is co-chaired by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.

The sixth edition of the Forum -- a platform that convenes US and Indian business leaders to develop and provide joint recommendations for strengthening bilateral commercial ties and expand trade and investment between the two countries -- was held in the US capital on Wednesday.

Lockheed Martin CEO and president James Taiclet and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran are the private sector co-chairs for 2023-2024.

During the meeting, Raimondo and Goyal appreciated the recommendations made by the Forum members over the past two years and their respective initiatives.

Goyal said in a post on X, "Held a productive meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Raimondo over lunch on the sidelines of the India-US CEO Forum. Our discussions focused on prospects of tech and research and development collaboration in critical sectors such as defence, space, semiconductors, telecom, AI (artificial intelligence) and clean energy." "We also discussed opportunities for US investments in upcoming 20 industrial cities in India to foster mutual growth," he added.

The meeting also took stock of the Forum's accomplishments, including the launch of the publicly accessible Network for Innovation and Harnessing Investments and Trade for Inclusive Growth between the United States and India (NIHIT) platform to facilitate online knowledge sharing and networking among US and Indian startups and small businesses.

NIHIT has so far organised four workshops to promote capacity building and skilling in cybersecurity, digital technologies and AI that were attended by more than 1,000 startups, small businesses and entrepreneurs, a press release said.

The Forum members represent 22 US companies and 25 Indian companies.