CII Communique - October, 2010

eportUnited States of AmericaRon Somers, President, USIBC, Judy Reinke, Commercial Counselor, US Embassy, Tarun Das, Chairman, CII India-US Council,Francisco Sanchez, US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Mohansingh Rajpal, Mayor of Pune and Kiran Pasricha,Deputy Director General, CIIUnder Secretary Sanchez’s Visit to IndiaCII, in partnership with the US India Business Council(USIBC) organized the inaugural ‘Growth in EmergingMetropolitan Sectors’ (GEMS) conference on 28September in Pune. The GEMS initiative, led by theUS Department of Commerce, aims to venture out toTier-II and Tier-III cities in India in an effort to identifyopportunities for Indo-US business collaboration. Pune,as a rapidly growing city, exemplifies the emerging SMEsector, necessary for the next level of economic growthand job creation.Mr Francisco Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commercefor International Trade, International Trade Administration,US Department of Commerce, underscored the need toidentify many cities in India, like Pune, where businessopportunities can be found across sectors like cleanenergy, education, manufacturing and more. The promiseof urbanization presents tremendous opportunity forbusiness to fulfill the needs gap in products, services,infrastructure, he said.The conference highlighted the need for new avenuesfor cooperation between the US and India in sectors likeclean energy, retail, science and technology, e-learningand tracking climate change.Mr Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, Union Ministry ofMicro, Small and Medium Enterprises, India, outlinedspecific recommendations to provide a boost to theSME sector, such as creating an additional focusgroup for SMEs under the Indo-US Trade Policy Forum,and creating a CEOs Forum for SME as institutionalmechanisms for exchange of ideas and technology.The upcoming visit of US President Obama to Indiaexemplifies the US administration’s deep commitmentto strengthening relations with India. Business linkages,which lie at the center of bilateral relations, must growacross sizes, cities and sectors.In New Delhi, CII organized a closed door meetingwith Mr. Francisco Sanchez, on 29 September. Thediscussion revolved around SMEs collaboration, Energy,Agriculture, Manufacturing and the upcoming visit ofPresident Obama. The meeting was chaired by Mr TarunDas, Chairman, CII India-US Council.Interaction with Under Secretary Robert HormatsIndia is a natural partner to the US and the future of thetwo countries is intertwined, declared Mr. Robert Hormats,Under Secretary for Economics, Energy and AgricultureAffairs, US Department of State. Speaking at an interactivesession on ‘Indo-US bilateral economic relationship inthe context of changing Global economic architecture’,jointly organised by CII and the Aspen Institute India on15 September, in New Delhi, Mr. Hormats underlined theimportance of investment, energy, agriculture and globaleconomic cooperation towards deepening the cooperationbetween India and US.66 | October 2010 Communiqué