The Minister of State (Independent Charge) Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman met Penny Pritzker, US Secretary of Commerce, here today. In an hour-long meeting, both the Ministers reviewed the trade ties between India and US. Ms. Pritzker informed that in the wake of the new government in India, there is a lot of excitement and optimism and signals are positive.Sitharaman said that we are following growth-oriented policies with a humanitarian touch as development in countries like India has to be inclusive. Both the sides identified areas where immediate collaboration can be started, which include investment, cluster-related initiatives, Investment Summit and identification of projects. Both sides agreed to initiate identification of real projects where partners from both the countries will collaborate.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Smt. Sitharaman said: “It was one of the very good meetings where both the sides are keen on having a lot of things moving forward. So before the Prime Minister’s visit, it was more than once expressed by both sides that they are looking for good deliverables. The impression I got from the Secretary was that this visit is something they were looking forward to. They are looking at various different things which can happen during this visit and the sense I got was that they are keen on building on relationship with India.”
The US side gave a draft MoU on US-India Infrastructure Initiative proposal. The proposal was termed “a very positive step” by the Indian Minister which will be taken forward. Sitharaman apprised the visiting US Secretary of Commerce about the administrative simplifications and government facilitation measures and also about the manufacturing initiatives like SEZ, NIMZ and other Industrial Corridors. Smt. Sitharaman conveyed Ms. Pritzker about India’s plan with regard to smart cities too.