In what would be a significant boost to the domestic entertainment industry, the United States has been roped in as the partner country for the 2009 Ficci Frames - the annual global convention on the entertainment and media industry that is partly sponsored by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It will be the tenth year of Ficci Frames next year.

A large contingent of executives from Hollywood-based film studios, animation companies, several film producers and US officials are expected to come to Mumbai in February next year leading to the possibility of a number of film and television deals being signed, sources said.

According to the recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the overseas market of Indian films is estimated to grow at 19 per cent over the next five years to reach Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) in 2012 from the size of Rs 850 crore (Rs 8.5 billion) last year. The major contributions of this pie will come from the US and UK, the report says.

According to sources, this move may also translate into India exploring the possibility of signing a film treaty deal with the US.

"We now have a film treaty agreement with the UK and Italy, both of which were once the partner country at Ficci Frames. With the US partnering Ficci Frames next year, we should hope for a similar treaty," says an official in the I&B ministry.

The film treaty agreements between two countries normally help the producers with tax incentives, funding and other benefits related to shooting the film in locations in both the countries.

Industry body Ficci organises a three-day annual convention in Mumbai that attracts thousands of international media companies, executives and other officials.

The US films market has become important for India in recent times as several production houses like Reliance [Get Quote] ADAG's Big Entertainment, UTV Movies, Percept Picture among others are actively associating with the business opportunities arising in the US.