WASHINGTON – The United States has called on India to take the adequatesteps to become the new regional business hub for American enterprises thatare increasingly facing difficulties in China.
US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster was quoted be media as saying in hisfirst speech in office that India can replace China as an alternativebusiness point, stressing that this could benefit both New Delhi andWashington.
“India can seize the strategic opportunity – through trade and investment –to become an alternative hub for US business in the Indo-Pacific region,”Juster said as reported by Russia’s Sputnik news agency.
“There are many benefits to growing our bilateral economic relationship andmaking India a regional hub for US business … Opening India’s marketfurther to US trade and investment will spur our collaboration on manyemerging technologies that will drive and protect our economies, includingthose related to advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity,” the ambassadorsaid.
Juster said that boosting economic ties would allow the countries toincrease flows of capital and to further share technologies.
“‘America First’ and “Make in India” are not incompatible. Rather,investing in each other’s markets will be mutually beneficial – it willincrease our economic interactions and volume of trade, lead tocollaboration on emerging technologies, and create jobs in both countries,”he added, as quoted by Sputnik.
He noted that accelerating the economic and regulatory reform processalready begun by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help ensure that Indiais seen as an increasingly efficient, transparent and well-regulatedmarket.
“This will further promote growth and development. Continued reforms andtrade liberalisation will also enable Indian products to more readilybecome part of the global supply chain, thereby accelerating job creation,”Juster was quoted in another report by India’s Economic Times of India.
Bilateral trade has increased from approximately $20 billion in 2001 to $115billion in 2016, the report added.