Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon will open the 5th US-India High Technology Cooperation Group hosted by the US-India Business Council at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC on February 22.

US Secretary of Commerce Carlos M Gutierrez will address keynote the event. Gutierrez, who has just returned from his first mission to India, will discuss emerging avenues of trade and cooperation in high technology.

Menon will open the meeting titled 'A Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century - New Horizons for US - India Business.' The programme will also feature Deputy Secretary of Commerce David A. Sampson,

This day-long business-to-business interactive discussion will address critical issues affecting US-India high technology cooperation in areas, including  telecommunications, information technology, defense/strategic cooperation, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, and intellectual property.

The private sector business interactions will inform the bilateral discussions between the Indian government and the American government scheduled for the following day.

The HTCG will concentrate on streamlining the export control regimes of the two countries that hamper trade and investment in high technology as well as open a dialogue about Indian eligibility for the US Department of Commerce's new Validated End-User programme, also known as the Trusted Customer Program.

"The evolving dialogue of the High Technology Cooperation Group shows deepening interest in high technology trade and investment consistent with the US-India Strategic Partnership -- which culminated last year in passage by the US Congress of civilian nuclear cooperation between the US and India," said USIBC president Ron Somers.

"Our objective for this summit is to deepen high technology trade and investment between the world's two largest free-market democracies," he said.