The Hindu Business Line : India invites more US investments

India has urged the US to deepen the bilateral economic engagement and accord a special thrust to investments on mutually agreed priority areas, specially infrastructure, energy, science and technology, space research and high technology collaboration and agro processing.

The Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, currently in the US, said this during his meeting with the US Trade Representative Ambassador, Mr Ron Kirk, last evening in Washington. Indian investments in the US in 2008-09 were more than the US investments in India. The Minister said Mr Kirk will be travelling to New Delhi later this month for discussions on the Indo-US Trade Policy Forum.

Mr Kirk expressed appreciation for the initiative taken by India to re-energize the Doha process by holding the informal WTO Ministerial Meeting in September. The two Ministers said that progress had taken place since that meeting and a roadmap had been chalked out by the negotiating chairs in Geneva ahead of the WTO Ministerial Meeting scheduled in November.

Travelling professionals

Mr Sharma voiced concerns over the effect of the loss of duty preference under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) which had affected many labour-intensive industries in India. He also emphasised the need to create a special dispensation for Indian professionals travelling to the US on temporary assignments in fulfilment of contractual obligations.

Earlier in the day, Mr Sharma addressed the Global Services Summit organised by the Coalition of Service Industries. The Minister had discussions with the EU trade Commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton, and the ministers took stock of the ongoing India-EU FTA negotiations and other areas of economic engagement ahead of the India-EU summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi in early November.