Washington – The US-India Business Council (USIBC) is observing “India Week,” beginning Monday, June 11, to mark its 37th year advancing US-India commercial ties, with a series of programs and business events, according to a USIBC statement.
Kicking off the “India Week” program, USIBC will host a gala reception on June 11, inviting all friends of India, featuring Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), co-chair of the Senate India Caucus on Capitol Hill, and Sam Pitroda, Advisor to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
With a number of Indian top officials in town for the June 13 US-India Strategic Dialogue, the USIBC, in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), announced the holding of a US-India Economic Summit and USIBC’s 37th Anniversary Leadership Summit, scheduled on June 12.
Commenting on the summit, USIBC President Ron Somers said, “We are honored that India’s External Affairs Minister, Shri SM Krishna, will address USIBC’s 350 member companies on the occasion of USIBC’s 37th anniversary.”
Noting a “rewarding US-India commercial partnership,” since India opened its economy in 1991, Somers said, “USIBC is bullish about an exciting period ahead – one that heralds tremendous opportunities for industry, working with our governments to achieve deeper ties, spark new business partnerships, and establish innovative business models that will result in economic growth and prosperity and the creation of jobs in both countries.”
With the designated aim to revitalize the US-India growth story, the USIBC expected American and Indian business leaders at these summits to formulate joint industry recommendations which will lead to greater US-India collaboration in economic and job security, energy security, defense and strategic security, and food and agricultural security.
India’s Science and Technology Minister, Shri Ashwani Kumar, and India’s Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, will preside over the USIBC-CII Economic Summit.
US Secretary of Commerce John Bryson and Assistant to the President Michael Froman will welcome India’s Union Minister of External Affairs, SM Krishna, as Chief Guest for USIBC’s 37th anniversary “India Week” deliberations.
India’s External Affairs Minister is expected to deliver a major policy address to industry at the Leadership Summit before attending the US-India Strategic Dialogue, hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
With two-way trade between the United States and India ready to surpass the $100 billion mark this year, the USIBC noted investment from the Indian companies in the United States coming at unprecedented rates, while American companies continued to commit long-term capital to India.
There will be the passing of the baton of USIBC leadership from the outgoing USIBC Chair, Harold “Terry” McGraw III, Chairman, President, & CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies, to his successor, MasterCard Worldwide President & CEO Ajay Banga.
CII’s President Adi Godrej and Secretary General Chandrajit Bannerjee will bolster USIBC’s 37th anniversary by introducing to the American business community an impressive, senior-level business delegation which is accompanying them from India.
Another highlight is the USIBC’s presentation of its 37th Anniversary Global Leadership Awards to Alan Mulally, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company and Anand Mahindra, Chairman & Managing Director of The Mahindra Group, to underscore the council’s appreciation of the importance of deepening manufacturing collaboration between the world’s largest free-market democracies.
Karan Thapar, President of India’s Infotainment Television, will stimulate a free-wheeling conversation between Mahindra, Mulally, Dow’s Heinz Haller, Cognizant’s Frank D’Souza, and USIBC’s out-going chair, to flesh out what industry and government must do to elevate the US-India growth story to new and exciting levels.
USIBC’s 37th Anniversary Leadership Summit will be graced by an historic first – inaugural program remarks by the women ambassadors representing the two countries, Indian Ambassador to the US, Nirupama Rao, and US Ambassador to India, Nancy J. Powell. (IATNS)