Diplomacyindia.com

New Delhi, Aug 30  India and the US on Tuesday began the economy leg of their Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, with Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asking America Inc to join the country’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Sitharaman first met with co-chair and her US counterpart Penny Pritzker, following which they presided over the India-US CEO Forum, that has Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry and Honeywell Chairman Dave Cote as the co-hosts.

The Forum discusses opportunities for increasing bilateral trade and investment, in which the CEOs will communicate their joint recommendations to the US and Indian governments.

“The elevated Strategic and Commercial Dialogue provides a platform for taking on trade and commerce to the next level between our two countries,” Sitharaman said.

Both sides will work together for creating a platform for promoting culture of innovation, she added.

“We must make it easier for Indian and American companies to buy from each other, to invest in each other, and to create with each other. Now is the time to address the impediments to growth faced by our businesses and economies,” Pritzker said.

The larger, 2nd India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue is being led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry to review the progress on decisions taken last time and identify new areas of cooperation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama had decided in 2015 to elevate the then India-US engagement into a Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, reflecting the significance of the trade and economic ties between the two sides.

This is the first time the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue is being held in India.

During her trip, Pritzker will also meet with Indian entrepreneurs and participate in an event celebrating US-India cooperation on travel and tourism. In June 2016, Obama and Modi announced that the two countries will be Travel and Tourism Partner Countries in 2017.