Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will be leaving early Wednesday on a five-day visit to the U.S. to pitch for American investment in India's infrastructure sector as also attend the Fund-Bank meeting.
Heading a delegation, including three of his Cabinet colleagues and top honchos of India Inc., Mr. Mukherjee is slated to address the 8th Annual India Investment Forum meeting in New York on September 21. The theme of his address will be India's continuing growth story, wherein Mr. Mukherjee is expected to present India as an attractive investment destination to top U.S. corporates, particularly in its infrastructure sector, which is in need of over $1 trillion over the next five years.
The three Cabinet Ministers accompanying Mr. Mukherjee — Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah — are also scheduled to address the select gathering to provide a perspective of their respective sectors to top U.S. investors.
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While in New York, Mr. Mukherjee will address the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC)-FICCI Round Table meeting, which will be attended, among others, by USIBC Chairman Terry Mcgraw, FICCI President Harsh Mariwala and about 20 CEOs of U.S. companies and 20 participants from India.
In the second leg of his visit, Mr. Mukherjee is slated to address the India-U.S. CEOs Forum Meeting in Washington on September 22. The CEOs Forum was constituted in 2005 as part of India-U.S. economic dialogue and now comprises 12 CEOs each from India and the U.S. to coordinate its activities and recommendations to help the two governments improve the business environment in India and the U.S.
During the day, Mr. Mukherjee will attend the BRICS Finance Ministers' meeting which has been convened by India on the sidelines of the Fund-Bank and G-20 meetings to explore the manner in which this group consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa can coordinate in addressing the evolving economic and financial situations in various countries of the world. “The main objective of the meeting is to discuss the concerns regarding the current situation of the global economy and the policy response by BRICS member countries,” a Finance Ministry statement said.
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At the 86th Meeting of G-24 Ministers convened to discuss the issue of recovery, growth and development, strategy and action plan for enhancing the effectiveness of the group, South African Pravin J. Gordhan will hand over the Presidency of G-24 to the Indian Finance Minister. Later, Mr. Mukherjee will attend a working dinner meeting of G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economy and framework.
On Friday, Mr. Mukherjee is slated to attend the plenary session of the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank, which “is actually a curtain raiser for the Fund- Bank annual meeting and sets the agenda for the Development Committee Meeting and the IMFC Meeting which follows on the next day. In the afternoon, the Finance Minister will attend the joint International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) and World Economic Forum Meeting consisting of 24 Ministers and 24 CEOs.
This is for the first time such meeting is being held. In the evening, there will be G-20 Finance Ministers and Development Ministers Meeting in two sessions focussing on development agenda, including infrastructure and food security, and development financing which will include a report by Bill Gates Foundation on development financing and World Bank's report on climate financing. A communique will be issued at the end of the meeting.