U.S. Consul-General, Chennai, Jennifer McIntyre has said the U.S. Consulate is focussing on tier-II cities in south India with the objective of strengthening trade ties between the U.S. and India.
In an informal chat with The Hindu , on the sidelines of the business seminar on ‘Doing Business with USA’ here on Tuesday, Ms. McIntyre said the reason she was in Hubli was because the city was among the 400 tier II cities in the country that had great potential. Tremendous growth was expected in these cities, she added.
She said that in Karnataka, apart from Bangalore, the consulate was focussing on cities such as Mangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad. “Next time, we may visit Belgaum.”
Ms. McIntyre said that apart from investment and trade development, the U.S. Consulate was looking at leveraging the strengths of tier II cities.
She said the consulate staff was travelling throughout south India, meeting students, businesspersons and civil society members to talk about the services the U.S. Consulate provided and also motivate them to partner on initiatives of mutual interest.
She said the consulate was also looking at ensuring sustainable growth in the agriculture sector. It had extended financial assistance to UAS, Dharwad.