“India regards the United States as one of our most reliable trade partners”

WASHINGTON DC: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Friday stated that US-India relations are expanding across various sectors, including trade, technology, and investment.

Goyal emphasised that India places great importance on its relationship with the United States.

“Let me be clear: India regards the United States as one of our most reliable trade partners. We are increasingly expanding our relations and trade across goods, services, technology, and investment. We deeply value this partnership. Under the Modi government, we have enjoyed excellent relations with the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, and we expect this to continue in the future,” he said.

Goyal further stated that India and the US had signed an MoU on critical minerals to keep supply chains open and foster collaboration between India’s Ministry of Mines and the US government.

“During my four-day visit to the US, we signed the MoU on critical minerals to ensure supply chains remain open and to foster collaboration between India’s Ministry of Mines and the US government,” he said.

Goyal highlighted that trade policy forums and commercial dialogues with the US are now occurring regularly, a notable improvement compared to a few years ago.

“The Trade Policy Forum, the Commercial Dialogue with the US Commerce Secretary, and the India-US CEO Forum are all in regular contact. There was a time when such meetings were rare, with years passing without engagement. Today, they are focused, agenda-driven, and frequent,” he said.

He also underscored that high-level meetings between India and the US are now consistently taking place.

“Another significant point is the number of high-level engagements within just one month. The Prime Minister was here, followed by the Defence Minister, the Foreign Minister, and myself. The US-India relationship now transcends politics. Both the United States and India, at the highest levels, are engaging regularly, and this relationship is improving and maturing by the month,” Goyal said.

Goyal also addressed the importance of reskilling and upskilling technical personnel to support greater collaboration in artificial intelligence (AI).

“The academia-industry partnership, which was advanced by the Prime Minister’s tech roundtable at MIT, was a key discussion point. We explored how we can work together on reskilling and upskilling technical professionals to provide the workforce needed for greater collaboration in AI, machine learning, and the establishment of data centres in India. These efforts will create investment opportunities in both countries. I also met with top bankers and investment funds, many of whom have ambitious plans, and the figures they are discussing for future investments are remarkable, showcasing the attractiveness of India’s growth story and the potential of the four Ds — Decisive leadership, Demographic dividend, and vibrant Democracy,” Goyal said.

The Commerce Minister reiterated that the India-US partnership will continue to thrive.

“Given the global risks associated with working with countries that lack the rule of law and non-discriminatory policies, the India-US relationship is strong in every sense. We will continue to collaborate with the same mutual trust that defines this partnership,” he said. (ANI)

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