The US held the 6th meeting of the US-India CEO Forum on Wednesday, co-chaired by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. Business leaders from the US and Indian business sectors met at the forum to create and share joint recommendations to enhance bilateral commercial relations and boost trade and investment between the two nations.
In a post on X, Goyal said, "Held a productive meeting with the US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, over lunch on the sidelines of the India-US CEO Forum. Our discussions focused on prospects of tech and R & D collaboration in critical sectors such as defence, space, semiconductors, telecom, AI and clean energy. We also discussed opportunities for US investments in upcoming 20 industrial cities in India to foster mutual growth."
During the meeting, representatives from the US and Indian governments and CEO forum members reassured their commitment towards expanding bilateral trade and commerce, fostering inclusive economic growth and innovation, and strengthening their partnership.
The Secretary and the Minister thanked James Taiclet, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin, and N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, for their leadership as Private Sector Co-Chairs for 2023–2024. They acknowledged the valuable recommendations made by forum members over the past two years and highlighted various initiatives taken by them.
They also reviewed the forum’s achievements, including launching the publicly accessible Network for Innovation and Harnessing Investments and Trade for Inclusive Growth between the US and India (NIHIT) Platform, designed to facilitate online knowledge sharing and networking among US and Indian startups and small businesses. To date, NIHIT has hosted four workshops to build cybersecurity, digital technologies, and AI capacity, attracting over 1,000 startups, small businesses, and entrepreneurs.
CEO Forum members, representing 22 US companies and 25 Indian companies, have made several recent announcements, including Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems Limited, who have recently signed a teaming agreement for the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. This agreement establishes a framework to create a new maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility in India to support the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fleet, as well as other global fleets of C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, and secondly enhance the manufacturing and assembly of these aircraft in India to bolster the IAF’s Medium Transport Aircraft program.
This collaboration is among many signed by US-based and Indian firms to enhance commercial engagement between the two countries.
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