The Hindu Business Line : USIBC calls for greater B2B ties with Indian cos

THE US India Business Council (USIBC), representing over 130 of the largest US companies with trade and investment interests in India, has called for greater business-to-business cooperation between the two sides.

Making a presentation on the US trade and economic ties with India post 9/11, at a recent interactive session with a visiting team of Indian legal and corporate professionals here, Mr Ron Somers, President of USIBC, said there was a strong need to overcome operational issues and deepen strategic partnership between the two nations through expanded economic ties.

Describing India and US as natural allies, he saw huge opportunities for cooperation between US and Indian companies, particularly in areas of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

Mr Somers who had headed Cogentrix in India during the troubled times for the US power major over the Karnataka project, and then Unocal, told the delegation members that USIBC was keen to push the India success story through a series of ramp-ups, which may culminate in the expected visit of the US President, Mr George Bush, to India some time in February next year. Pointing out that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh's July 18 visit to the US has given a major fillip to Indo-US economic ties, he said the USIBC now stood fully committed to continuing to serve as the official convener of the US private sector component of the US-India economic dialogue, providing support and serving as a secretariat for the US executives engaged in the dialogue.

The Council, which has already offered to participate in the formation of a bilateral Public/Private Commission to address impediments to India-US trade and investment, has called for bilateral discussions over regulatory issues and reform.

Suggesting that India may need energy security in a big way, given its current GDP growth at over 6 per cent, Mr Somers said the Electricity Act should be implemented without any further delay.

In the context of West Bengal, he said a high-level US business delegation was expected to visit Kolkata between November 7 and 11, to study the business prospects in the State.

Meanwhile, participating in an interactive session here,

Mr Donald A. Camp, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of South Asian Affairs, said the positive engagement between the two sides has reaffirmed the need to look at fresh opportunities.

He said the recent US-India summit meetings have unleashed great promise for future economic cooperation, as many areas of common interest have been discussed at length.

Mr Camp said "India has made great progress on economic reforms in the last 15 years, and should itself decide on what course it should pursue insofar as further reforms are concerned".

Appreciating the newly set up US-India CEOs' Forum as timely, the senior US Economic Bureau officials described it as a super mechanism to air views of the respective industries across the table effectively.

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