Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, jointly chaired the India-US CEO Forum with the US Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo in Washington D.C., USA on Thursday.
The India-U.S. CEO Forum convened as a platform to allow private sector members to develop and provide recommendations to the Indian and US governments that reflect the private sector’s views, concerns and suggestions about the creation of an environment in which the bilateral economic links are strengthened.
It works in tandem with and provides inputs to, government-to-government U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue.
As per the information shared by the Commerce Ministry, the CEOs, under the seven working groups, presented priority areas to create stronger partnerships and boost growth across various critical areas such as Entrepreneurship and Promoting Small Businesses, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, Aerospace and Defence, ICT and Digital Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Environment, Infrastructure and Manufacturing, Financial Services, Trade and Investments, among others.
Both sides deliberated on the progress made as of the last meeting of the Forum in March last year,, including the launching of innovation handshake and a knowledge-sharing platform called NIHIT (Network for Innovation and Harnessing Investments and Trade). Government representatives and CEOs reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening commercial and trade ties, driving economic growth and innovation, and fostering a resilient bilateral partnership.
The Forum was co-chaired from private sector by N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, and James Taiclet, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin. This is the third time the forum has been convened since its reconstitution in November 2022 by the Governments of India and the USA and saw participation from 16 CEOs. Both governments appreciated its progress on initiatives and its achievements over the past two years.