Historic Trump visit to help double India-US economic engagement: ASSOCHAM

New Delhi: Trade and investment relations between India and the US have received a major boost from the historic visit of President Donald Trump to different Indian cities, concluding with signing of major deals in New Delhi, ASSOCHAM secretary general, Mr Deepak Sood said today.

Complimenting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for forging enhanced level of economic relationship with the US by hosting President Trump with a personal dimension, Mr Sood said the two-way engagement of about USD 160 billion can be doubled within the next 4-5 years.

“With a rising economy and aspiration of 1.3 billion people, India has emerged as a key and strategic partner for the US even as the US remains the most important and promising destination for Indian export of goods and services. President Trump aptly described India as a ‘tremendous market’. With a continuous and warm relationship between the Indian Prime Minister and the US President, the bilateral engagement would only spiral in the upward trajectory,” he said

The Defence cooperation announced today is expected to go well beyond the USD 3 billion deal into transfer of technology and making India itself a global supplier of Defence production.

In so far as the trade deal is concerned, Mr Sood said, “While a structured bilateral agreement, still underway, would turbocharge the economic engagement, the mutual businesses are progressing apace anyway. Energy partnership is a new and fast-growing area of bilateral cooperation while lot more is expected in exchange of technology.”

The Trump visit would also be booster to a resourceful Indian diaspora who would contribute even more to the American economy, he said further.

He added, “ASSOCHAM is lining up its own plan of action to work closely with top US companies and industry bodies, forging institutional mechanism for India-US industrial cooperation.”