India will be the most consequential partner for the US in the Indo-Pacific this century, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday ahead of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two countries next week. Esper on Tuesday told a Washington audience that he and the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be travelling to New Delhi next week for the 2+2 ministerial with their respective Indian counterparts Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
'Sullivan and Jaishankar welcomed the cooperation in recent weeks that resulted in deliveries of over USD 500 million in COVID-19 relief supplies from the US federal and state governments, US companies and private citizens across America for the people of India'
Chandrasekaran, who is the co-recipient of this year's USIBC Global Corporate Leadership Award, also said it is possible to have a limited deal between India and the US before the elections there in November if both sides work together to get something done and not try to solve all issues at once.
Calling COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines as one of the most important aspects of his discussions with top officials of the Biden administration, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the endeavour is to expand production of vaccines in India with assistance from the US.
At the same time, Jaishankar said India and the US are on the same page on many issues relating to the recent developments in Afghanistan including apprehensions about the possible use of Afghan soil for terrorism.
The private sector in India and the United States has succeeded in fostering historic trade relationships between the two largest democracies of the world, a top Obama Administration official said on Thursday.
"The US-India economic partnership is the strongest it has ever been and trade has played a vital role in that development," United States Trade Representative Susan C Schwab said at a meeting.
"So you will not have anything better... democracy loving, capitalist respecting environment... in India," Sitharaman said at the event hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in association with the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 3-day visit to the US, hundreds of Indian-Americans from across the country have joined hands to give him a rousing welcome in front of the United Nations headquarters and the White House.
In a show of solidarity, the CEOs of some 40 top American companies have come together to create a global task force to mobilise resources to help India fight the battle against Covid-19.
E-commerce companies that fall within the scope of the equalisation levy include Adobe, Uber, Udemy, Zoom.us, Expedia, Alibaba, Ikea, LinkedIn, Spotify, and eBay.
The terrible beauty of Doval's initiative is that it is all about a new journey rather than about a set compass pointing toward a pre-determined destination, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
President Trump, forcefully pursuing his 'America first" policy, has previously described India as a "tariff king" for imposing "tremendously high" tariffs on American products, also expressed dissatisfaction over the US-India trade ties. "Well, we can have a trade deal with India, but I'm really saving the big deal for later on," Trump, who is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25, told reporters at the Joint Base Andrews outside Washington on Tuesday when asked whether he expects a trade deal with India before the visit.
The president and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad during the visit.
Prime Minister Modi needs to call Biden next month and clearly say: 'Mr President, the threat from China is clear and present. We, in New Delhi, have determined it to be an urgent national priority to outfit our submarines and aircraft carriers with nuclear propulsion and we want to cooperate with America on this programme",' advises Ajai Shukla.
'But an overthrow of the Afghan government would really embolden regional militant groups in a big way.' 'LeT and JeM could be emboldened, and prompted to replicate in Kashmir what the Taliban did in Afghanistan.'
American CEOs on Friday identified poor infrastructure and bureaucratic delays as major deterrents to US investments in India, while making a strong pitch for further liberalisation in the financial and retail sector.
A top Bush administration official has said that there is "tremendous potential" for the growth of US-India trade and hoped that the two countries would work together for a strong Doha Round Agreement.
Illinois governor Pat Quinn said on Friday the US, where the financial system has let people down, can 'learn a few things from India' on how to get its economy back on track, given the inspiring dynamism of the Indian economy.
Gujarat and Karnataka are the "role models" of a competent and transparent government and a progressive leadership that can attract investors in the coming years, according to a leading US business forum representative.
His vision drove ITC to pursue business models that today support over 6 million livelihoods, many amongst the weakest in society.
The former Chief of Army Staff said India faces the most complex threats and challenges spanning a full spectrum of possible conflict -- from nuclear to sub-conventional -- but asserted that the armed forces are ready to deal with them.
India's top IT companies need to open new facilities in the United States to create more employment opportunities for locals and to change the perception that they were job-takers, a leading US business forum representative has said.
Trade and economic issues, including visa, totalisation pact and impediments hampering investments, are likely to figure at Monday's US-India CEO Forum meeting, which will be jointly addressed by visiting US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pelosi also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's communication skills at the event.
India will welcome two trade missions in 2015 focused on meeting its infrastructure needs with US technology and services.
'Even as discord over US-India trade and commerce colours diplomatic relations, defence relations between the two countries remain on a firm footing,' points out Ajai Shukla.
The start of Indian lobbying in the US can be traced back to Pakistan's anti-India lobbying. Policy wonk Ashok Sharma documents this journey and its catalytic role in transforming the US-India relationship.
"Indian-Americans are an 'organic bridge' between the world's two largest democracies," he said.
United States Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to India on June 23 to co-chair the 4th India-US strategic dialogue, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee stresses on stronger Indo-US ties at the CEO meet in Washington, DC.
Mukherjee is in Washington, DC to co-chair the US-India CEO's Forum with US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The gates of NRG Stadium will open at 6 am to accommodate and seat 50,000 people by 9 am, after which cultural programme will begin and continue till 10:30 am, and will be broadcast live in Hindi, English and Spanish languages followed by the address of the two leaders.
This year's Padma awards took place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on Monday. Mohanlal Viswanathan, Prabhu Deva and Shankar Mahadevan have been conferred with honours. Take a look.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India is committed to resolve all issues through dialogue, noting the way ahead to address the issue is negotiations.
USISPF slammed government's move and alleged that the amendments announced were without any consultation and are akin to changing rules in the middle of the game.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday he was concerned over inflow of funds into the stock exchanges from unregistered entities.
Kamal Nath said the meeting identified "some areas of concerns and interest" from both sides impacting two-way trade, like "the issue of setting up titanium plants for the aircraft sector.
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu is slated to meet senior executives of Apple on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.
