India Inc hopes for new highs in economic ties with US with Biden as Prez

New Delhi: Indian industry hopes that bilateral economic ties between India and the US will reach new heights with Joe Biden as the next President of the world's largest economy.

On Sunday, Indian Inc congratulated Biden along with Kamala Harris, the Vice President-elect of the US.

Industry body Assocham expressed confidence that the Indo-American partnership would lead the world in the most coordinated manner in critical areas like dealing with Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and rules-based and fair global trade.

"We congratulate Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris for their victory in the most keenly contested US election. Under the Biden-Harris leadership, the Indo-US economic ties would go from strength to strength, getting deeper into areas of advanced scientific research and development, business to business cooperation in strategic areas," said Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood.

He added that Assocham would be announcing several new initiatives in forging business-to-business cooperation covering the entire gamut of trade, services, consulting, IT and its newer technology facets.

Congratulating Biden and Harris, Uday Kotak, President, CII said: "With rising trade and investment ties between the two countries, the health of our economies are inextricably linked and we must work together during this critical time to reinvigorate the bilateral economic agenda facilitating economic growth, enhancing job creation, supporting small business and enabling cooperation in investment-related movement of professionals."

"With the election of Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President, we are looking forward to engaging with the administration's leadership to promote post-pandemic economic stability, business collaboration, our shared democratic values and increased people-to-people ties that have defined the special India-US relationship," he said.

IT industry body NASSCOM said that it looks forward to working together with the new US administration to find solutions to the STEM skills gap, and enable America to be more competitive, to grow and create more jobs.

It noted that NASSCOM member companies have an important history in the US as they work with over three-quarters of the Fortune 500 companies in the US, providing them vital technology services and helping them innovate, compete, and grow.

The US-India Business Council (USIBC) said: "It's an exciting day for all Americans, but in particular, the Indian-American community in the United States. It is truly a barrier breaking moment, and one that celebrates the diversity of America and the important contributions of immigrants who have made America their home."

It noted that US-India ties have continued to grow and the bilateral partnership has continued to deepen for the past two decades, under both Democratic and Republican Presidents.

"The US-India Business Council looks forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration to help the US-India economic partnership achieve its full potential and bring opportunity to the citizens of both countries," USIBC said in a statement.