Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The India-United States trade is likely to surpass the previous record of USD 200 billion this year and huge opportunities exist for the two largest democracies to expand cooperation in defense and space sectors, besides critical emerging technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, said US American Ambassador Eric Garcetti on Thursday.
The US is proud to be India’s No. 1 trading partner with two-way trade reaching nearly USD 200 billion last year, Garcetti told reporters in Indore, the cleanest city in India during a visit.
“I think this year we will break the (previous) record of USD 200 billion in bilateral trade (between India and the US),” he said.
The envoy asserted that US President Joe Biden in the past had emphasized that trade between India and America should rise to the level of USD 500 billion given the potential for expansion.
Efforts are in progress to achieve this goal, said the Ambassador who took charge of his new diplomatic assignment last year.
Ambassador Garcetti said huge opportunities exist to further grow Indo-US trade and for bilateral cooperation in areas such as defense, agriculture, space, climate, energy, and health, as well as critical emerging technologies like semiconductors, telecommunications, AI, and quantum computing.
He noted that transport-related technologies, especially electric vehicles, could be perhaps the biggest area of growth in bilateral trade. “We would like to see India manufacturing electric vehicles in greater numbers. India can export these vehicles to the US,” he said.
On the eve of International Women’s Day, the US Ambassador met Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava and enquired about “pink buses” run by female drivers for women commuters in the city.
He also interacted with women drivers of these electric buses and listened to their experiences in the profession.
The US ambassador said women drivers of the “pink buses” inspire everyone.
“No country or city in the world can succeed if women don’t feel safe and empowered,” Garcetti added.