US-India trade group vows to strengthen business ties

"The private sector has always led the way in bringing the US and India closer together," US-India Business Council (USIBC) President Ron Somers said at a function Wednesday to welcome the new Indian Ambassador to US, Nirupama Rao.

Close to 400 USIBC member-companies are constantly perfecting new business models with Indian counterparts to bolster investment and technology ties, he said and the trade group looks forward to accelerating this exciting partnership.

At an interaction chaired by USIBC Board Member Secretary William S. Cohen, the group office bearers highlighted key goals for the business community for the year ahead, including deepening strategic trade in defence and security with India.

They also suggested "growing" agriculture and developing models to improve global food security, collaborating more deeply in education at all levels, and expanding trade and investment ties by working towards a Bilateral Investment Treaty and an Economic Cooperation Arrangement between the world's two largest free-market democracies.

Rao, in turn, indicated her enthusiasm for the progress that bilateral relations have already made and committed to working with USIBC member-companies to accelerate and enhance trade and investment opportunities across all business sectors, USIBC said.