A platform to facilitate Half -A- Trillion (HAT) dollar bilateral trade
New Delhi, September 11: The 11th Indo-US Economic Summit will be organized here by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce September 14 and 15. Billed as a brainstorming event, the summit will be inaugurated by the Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Mr. Arun Jaitley, at the capital’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. The deliberations will consider strategies and programs with a view to achieve the Half-A-Trillion (HAT) dollar bilateral trade target that was set by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in their joint statement of October 1, 2014. The two leaders endorsed the “Vision Statement for the Strategic Partnership” that committed both governments to take steps to grow bilateral trade to $500 billion.
According to Mr Lalit Bhasin, President of IACC’s North India Council, organizers of the mega event, “This summit assumes significance in view our Prime Minister’s imminent visit to the United States. We think that the goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama is laudable and doable. On IACC’s part, we are committed to make it reality. This particular summit is special because it showcases opportunities in various states through representation from our various state chapters.”
The HAT summit will shed light on themes like Make in India, Digital India and Renewable Energy and feature sessions on infrastructure, information technology, healthcare and hospitality. Of particular importance this year are confabulations on the newly vibrant defense, aerospace and electronics sectors.
The Indo-US Economic Summit is the flagship event of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC). The Chamber has been organizing this for the past ten years with the aim of discussing important issues that influence bilateral commercial ties. Senior cabinet ministers, high-ranking diplomats and influential businessmen have increasingly participated in the IACC summits, an indicator of IACC’s growing reputation as the premier bilateral platform. The chamber’s widespread influence can also be measured by its growing roster of activities in India and in the United States plus this year the summit has garnered notable support of the United States Commercial Service, the powerful trade promotion agency of the US government.
“IACC seeks to embellish the relationship between the two countries by providing policy inputs and intellectual insights. This year we are glad to focus attention on the sunrise sectors including defense. The idea is to set the trend for growth in business partnerships between Indian and American firms over the next decade, with a special focus on small and medium enterprises,” said Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Regional Vice President, IACC & Managing Director, Teleperformance.
Over ten consecutive years the summit has emerged as a dynamic platform for international policy deliberations and bilateral business and trade development acting as an important vehicle to foster Indo-US cooperation in critical sectors.
About IACC:
The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), established in 1968, is the apex bi-lateral Chamber synergizing India-US Economic Engagement. It was started by Ambassador Chester Bowles along with the then Industry leaders and visionaries like Mr. S L Kirloskar, Mr. Harish Mahindra, Mr. H. P. Nanda, Mr. Kilachand, Mr. A. M. M. Arunachalam, Mr. Frederick Fales and Mr. John Oris Sims for enhancing US India Economic Engagement. Today IACC has pan India presence with 2400 members at 12 locations, representing cross section of US and Indian Industry.