GES to skip visa woes of Indian techies in US

Newly nominated US Ambassador to India, Kenneth I Juster, on Monday said the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad starting Tuesday will not discuss the curbs on H1B visas affecting Indian techies in the US under the Trump regime.

Juster, on his first visit to Hyderabad after   he took charge 11 days ago, addressed a joint press conference along with CEO of NITI   Aayog Amitabh Kanth and Chief Secretary to Telangana government S P Singh.

Asked if the Summit outcome would impact   US thinking on tightened H1B visa regime, he said, "USA constantly reviews its policy on visas and it is not being announced. So I can't comment on the impact of that. And I don't think that the conference was designed for that. GES is aimed at creating jobs and greater growth, perhaps people find jobs at the place they live rather than looking for jobs elsewhere," he said.

Overall visa policy  

Elaborating on the impact of Trump regime's policy on Indian entrepreneurs working in Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the US, he said policies are not aimed at any one particularly. "The US government is undertaking an overall look at its visa policy worldwide and not focussing on any one country. Those (H1B) visas are designed to help US companies attract higher quality talent if not locally available. I don't see the H1B visa policy contradicting innovations," he added.

The diplomat with 35 years of experience as a senior business executive in the US, complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India's improved Moody's rating for ease of doing business. It will obviously help encourage US investment in India. "However investment decisions are made by private sector, not by the US government," he said.

The Ambassador was very positive about the impact of GES on Indo-US relations. "GES is an important part of the overall strategic partnership. Economic relations are as strategic as security relationship. India is an anchor to US investment in the Indo-Pacific region. And that will only give balance to our own strategic partnership. To make sure that the US presence in this region is a long term one and GES is an important step in that process," he said.

Delegates from 38 states of the USA are participating in the Summit.