Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday urged U.S.-based insurance funds, pension funds, and endowment funds to invest in India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and said that trade interactions between Indian States and U.S. investors could boost bilateral trade.
“The Finance Minister said the Central Government has created a NIIF in which various U.S.-based insurance and pension funds, endowment funds can invest, especially in the infrastructure sector, which has great potential in India,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement, following a meeting between Mr. Jaitley and United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.
The Obama administration on Monday said it expected continuity from a new regime in the U.S. on initiatives that it had taken in the last eight years to boost trade relationship with India, especially on strengthening bilateral partnership in innovation and entrepreneurship.
The August 30-31 India-U.S. Strategic & Commercial Dialogue (S&CD) – the premier bilateral forum for discussions on trade, economic and defence-related issues – will prioritise measures to promote ties in innovation and entrepreneurship, according to US government officials.
In the S&CD, the Indian side will be led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while the U.S. delegation will be led by Secretary of State John Kerry and Mr. Pritzker.
“Normally August is a quiet month for diplomats, but that’s not the case on the U.S.-India account,” U.S. Ambassador to India Richard R. Verma said, while speaking at a U.S.-India Innovation Forum on Monday.
“The S&CD is the signature, annual forum for policy discussions between our two governments. It was established in 2009 by then Secretary of State Clinton and a commercial track was added last year.”
NSG issueDiplomatic sources told The Hindu that the issue of India’s membership bid for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is likely to come up for discussion with Mr. Kerry in the course of the Strategic Dialogue which will be the last such dialogue with the Obama administration.
Following India’s failed bid for the NSG on June 24, there were reports of another session of the organisation later this year. The next session of the NSG will be crucial for India.
Significantly, this dialogue will mark the first occasion when leading policy makers on both sides will discuss the impact of the July 12 verdict of the PCA on the South China Sea, which was a setback to China’s regional plans in the Southeast Asian region.
This dialogue will also give India and the U.S. an opportunity to fine-tune plans for the G-20 summit in China during which President Obama will meet global leaders.
Pointing out that the Global Entrepreneurship Summit – an initiative that began under the Obama administration — will take place in India next year, Ziad Haider, special representative (commercial and business affairs), State Department said whoever becomes the new U.S. President is likely to continue these initiatives.
