US should respect free movement of professionals: Anand Sharma

Pitching India as a long-term investment destination, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today said the US should respect free movement of skilled professionals to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The Minister is accompanied by a CII CEOs delegation in his four-day visit to the US to woo foreign investors.

He said India and the US are partnering across sectors, including aerospace, nuclear, defence, agriculture, information technology, communications, science and technology, and will grow stronger with a two-way process.

Speaking at a dialogue hosted by the CII and the US India Business Council (USIBC) here, Sharma made a strong pitch to US businesses to look at India as a long-term business and investment opportunity.

He outlined the various policies undertaken by the Indian government to invigorate manufacturing and to create the right conditions for inviting investments into the country.
The government is committed to making India as the manufacturing hub of the world, he said.

The Minister emphasised that the US and India share a larger strategic relationship with deep and growing engagements in various sectors.

Joint collaborations in science and technology, innovation, research and development have further strengthened the bilateral partnership.

He mentioned the strong two-way investment flows, with US FDI in India pegged at USD 32 billion and Indian investments into the US projected to stand at USD 13 billion.

Sharma also recalled the steps such as creation of National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ) across India and single window  approval mechanism for investments undertaken by India.