Asking corporate America to invest in India and overlook “short-term challenges” that they are facing now, the new Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao assured the top U.S. business leaders that they will not lose a long term bet on their investments.
“India is a developing economy and an emerging world power. In years to come India would offer huge commercial opportunities and growth of international businesses,” Ms. Rao said to top business leaders at a reception hosted by US India Business Council (USIBC) on Wednesday.
You need to keep in focus the larger picture of our relationship, which is positive, progressive, she argued.
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“Being a developing country there would also be some challenges, mainly of short-term nature,” Ms. Rao said acknowledging candidly before the Corporate America, a view point which was presented to her earlier in her meeting with the USIBC board members.
“I am sure you will decide to invest in India, you will recognise that this is a stable and commercially sustainable story and you would overlook short term challenges that exists. I am not in the business of doing business..., but I know my country well enough to say that you will never lose a long term bet on India,” Rao said in her first major public address in Washington after arriving here over a week ago.
Ms. Rao, who was earlier India’s Foreign Secretary, said she is willing to work with them to make Indo-U.S. relationship what President Barack Obama has said the “defining moment of the 21st century.”
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The USIBC president Ron Somers said that “ties between US and Indian business has never been stronger” and USIBC member-companies are constantly perfecting new business models with Indian counterparts to bolster investment and technology ties.
“The private sector has always led the way in bringing the US and India closer together. Under Ambassador Ms. Rao’s leadership, USIBC looks forward to accelerating this exciting partnership,” Somers said.
USIBC’s business interaction with Ms. Rao, was chaired by its Board Member William S Cohen, who provided Ms. Rao with its “Way Forward” advocacy agenda for the year ahead.
In a discussion led by Secretary Cohen, USIBC office bearers highlighted key goals for the business community for the year ahead, including deepening strategic trade in defence and security, “growing” agriculture and developing models to improve global food security, collaborating more deeply in education at all levels, and expanding trade and investment ties by working towards a Bilateral Investment Treaty and an Economic Cooperation Arrangement between the world’s two largest free-market democracies.