Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (Indo-US relationship is improving day by day) that was published in Newsband

Indo-US relationship is improving day by day

 There is tremendous improvement in Indo-US relationship today. The two countries should continue with their bilateral strategic dialogues till they arrive at the most positive conclusion. The two should come up with joint declaration that will lay out a wide array of initiatives in areas like strategic cooperation, counterterrorism, intelligence, energy and climate change, education and development, trade, agriculture, science and technology, and health and innovation.

The importance of trade ties in our collective economic trajectories cannot be denied. India should keep sending missions to the US to discuss issues relating to bilateral trade. Meetings should be held with key policymakers, administrators and thought leaders in Washington. The objective behind the mission should be to make both the US and India benefit considerably by pursuing bilateral trade. The US engagements and investment in our burgeoning economy should be welcomed. India should not hesitate to be supportive of a strong economic and strategic partnership with the US, which will benefit both countries in the long run.

This partnership can assume a critical dimension in the backdrop of the steady rise of China, a fractious geostrategic environment in West Asia and South Asia and the recent economic developments in Europe.

In the past interactions with the US, Indians have witnessed a common thread - there is deep concern over India's economic future and how it affects the bilateral relationship with the US as a whole.  There is a lot of angst about the stalling of the reforms agenda and about some of the policy moves undertaken recently, which have dampened investor confidence in the Indian growth story. Our effort should be to reinforce faith in India's democratic economic system. We should convince the Americans about Indian industry's deep commitment to bilateral trade ties, which is of critical importance.

Overall trade between the US and India has reached a figure that should make Indians celebrate. The US is India's third-largest trading partner, the second most important export market, and the fifth most important source of imports. India was the US's 12th largest goods export market in 2010. Total American foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in 2010-2011 was $9.52 billion, while India has emerged as one of the fastest growing sources of FDI into the US, with $6.6 billion invested between 2000 and 2010. Both Indian and American companies are, thus, creating jobs and value systems in each other's countries, along with their own.

There are tremendous opportunities for greater engagement in sectors like defence, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture supply chain and clean energy, which can further boost this bilateral partnership. India's lead in providing products and services to the 'bottom of the pyramid' through frugal innovation, combined with American technical and managerial know-how and leadership, will make for a win-win situation for businesses on both sides.

The potential for collaboration between India and the US still remains largely untapped. Business can help revitalise this critical relationship. Let's hope that governments on both sides will supplement industry's efforts through policies which are stable, consistent and transparent.