Obama's visit to India to deepen economic ties
Friday, 26 November 2010
Stephen Kaufman in Washington
President Obama's November 6-9 visit to India has paid special attention to the deepening economic ties between the United States and India, and his interest in expanding the export of American goods and services and increasing U.S. business investment in the country.
India represents "one of the most important emerging economic relationships for the United States, both multilaterally and bilaterally," the US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Mike Froman told reporters at the White House on October 27 prior to President Obama's visit.
The United States Froman said sees "a large potential market" in India, with its population of 1.2 billion and an economy that is expected to grow at 8.0 per cent over the next several years. The Obama administration is working to ensure "there's a level playing field there, there's open markets there, and that our exports have an opportunity to penetrate that market and support jobs back here," Froman said. The relationship is "a two-way street," he added. While the United States has quadrupled its goods exports to $17 billion over the past seven years, and tripled its service exports to around $10 billion a year, Indian companies are the second-fastest-growing group of investors in the United States, supporting 57,000 American jobs.
According to Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes, President Obama visited Mumbai on November 6 and participated in the US-India Business Council meeting by meeting with Indian entrepreneurs and US business leaders to discuss business opportunities in India. Obama delivered a speech to the meeting on the economic relationship, as well as "the enormous potential for both countries to expand growth and opportunity for our people through that relationship.
He also addressed the Indian Parliament in New Delhi on November 08 to discuss bilateral cooperation on economic issues, as well as shared political and security interests.
The president's three-day visit is "the longest single foreign visit of his presidency so far," and having India serve as the first stop on his visit to Asia "underscores the significance and the potential of Indian-American partnership, Rhodes noted." Obama also stayed at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, one of the sites attacked by terrorists in November 2008, where he made remarks and paid respects to the victims.
His visit also took him to the museum honoring Indian independence and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi in Mumbai, and to Gandhi's memorial in New Delhi. In Mumbai, the president celebrated the Diwali holiday with Indian schoolchildren and spoke with Indian university students in a town hall meeting.
The president's visit followed India's October 27 signing of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, which governs nuclear liability. Speaking along with Rhodes and Froman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns welcomed India's signing as "a very positive step toward ensuring that international standards apply and that U.S. companies are going to have a level playing field on which to compete."
(This is an edited version of a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, US Department of State. Courtesy: The US embassy in Dhaka)
President Obama's November 6-9 visit to India has paid special attention to the deepening economic ties between the United States and India, and his interest in expanding the export of American goods and services and increasing U.S. business investment in the country.
India represents "one of the most important emerging economic relationships for the United States, both multilaterally and bilaterally," the US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Mike Froman told reporters at the White House on October 27 prior to President Obama's visit.
The United States Froman said sees "a large potential market" in India, with its population of 1.2 billion and an economy that is expected to grow at 8.0 per cent over the next several years. The Obama administration is working to ensure "there's a level playing field there, there's open markets there, and that our exports have an opportunity to penetrate that market and support jobs back here," Froman said. The relationship is "a two-way street," he added. While the United States has quadrupled its goods exports to $17 billion over the past seven years, and tripled its service exports to around $10 billion a year, Indian companies are the second-fastest-growing group of investors in the United States, supporting 57,000 American jobs.
According to Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes, President Obama visited Mumbai on November 6 and participated in the US-India Business Council meeting by meeting with Indian entrepreneurs and US business leaders to discuss business opportunities in India. Obama delivered a speech to the meeting on the economic relationship, as well as "the enormous potential for both countries to expand growth and opportunity for our people through that relationship.
He also addressed the Indian Parliament in New Delhi on November 08 to discuss bilateral cooperation on economic issues, as well as shared political and security interests.
The president's three-day visit is "the longest single foreign visit of his presidency so far," and having India serve as the first stop on his visit to Asia "underscores the significance and the potential of Indian-American partnership, Rhodes noted." Obama also stayed at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, one of the sites attacked by terrorists in November 2008, where he made remarks and paid respects to the victims.
His visit also took him to the museum honoring Indian independence and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi in Mumbai, and to Gandhi's memorial in New Delhi. In Mumbai, the president celebrated the Diwali holiday with Indian schoolchildren and spoke with Indian university students in a town hall meeting.
The president's visit followed India's October 27 signing of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, which governs nuclear liability. Speaking along with Rhodes and Froman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns welcomed India's signing as "a very positive step toward ensuring that international standards apply and that U.S. companies are going to have a level playing field on which to compete."
(This is an edited version of a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, US Department of State. Courtesy: The US embassy in Dhaka)