NEW DELHI: US Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, visited India last week on the invitation of Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, to participate in the India-US bilateral Commercial Dialogue 2023.
Co-chaired by the Minister and the Secretary, the Commercial Dialogue is a part of ongoing efforts to strengthen US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. She led a highlevel business delegation of US CEOs for the CEO Forum. The Forum is also focusing on shared strategic priorities in an outcome-oriented way. The CEO Forum was also re-launched in November 2022.
During the meeting, the Minister and the Secretary acknowledged that bilateral goods and services trade had almost doubled since 2014, surpassing $191 billion recorded in 2022. Both sides welcomed further steps to enhance their commercial collaboration and tap into market potential across multiple sectors, and also enable an environment for investment by small and mediumsized industries (MSME) and startups.
Secretary Raimondo applauded the steps undertaken under the National Infrastructure Pipeline and PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. The Minister and the Secretary welcomed the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
The Ministers also noted India’s interest in partnering with the United States in developing a secure pharmaceutical manufacturing base and diversifying supply chains for critical and strategic minerals (including rare earths).
One of the major outcomes was signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishing semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership under the framework of India – US Commercial Dialogue.
Both ministers recognised that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the U.S. and Indian economies and there is need to facilitate collaboration between the SMEs of the two countries and to foster innovation ecosystems that facilitate their post-pandemic economic recovery and growth. In this context, both sides announced the launch of a new Working Group on Talent, Innovation and Inclusive Growth under the Commercial Dialogue.
This will further the cooperation on Start-ups, SMEs, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship including in digital and emergent technologies.
