Hyderabad: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of the U.S. are keen to invest in India's aviation sector and are looking forward to the removal of impediments, top U.S. officials said.

Large American aviation companies want to bring supply base to India while SMEs in terminal service and pilot training are also keen to come here.

Carmine D'Aloisio, minister counsellor at the US embassy in India, said both countries should promote regulatory environment for SMEs by reducing the impediments.

The embassy officials along with those from the US commercial service were addressing a news conference on the sidelines of India Aviation-2008, India's first international conference and exhibition on civil aviation. The US is a partner country for the four-day event.

D'Aloisio said the US-India aviation cooperation programme (ACP) would be strengthened further with a range of activities designed to build the professional, regulatory and technical capacities needed to maintain strong safety oversight in India's airspace.

Started in 2007, the ACP is a public-private partnership between a group of US aviation companies, the US and the Indian governments. The goals of ACP include promoting safety, operational efficiency and system capacity in the Indian aviation sector, and strengthening overall India-US aviation cooperation.

D'Aloisio said air traffic management training programme, the first project taken up under the ACP, was nearing completion. The second project, air traffic flow management seminar, will take place next week in New Delhi. The ministry of civil aviation, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will participate in the seminar.

He said the US Export-Import Bank was also supporting programmes for India's civil aviation industry. Ex-Im Bank is financing $1.23 billion for Air India to help it purchase 68 aircraft from Boeing.

"The $2.45 billion Indian infrastructure facility approved by Ex-Im Bank for nine Indian financial institutions may be used to support India's investment in aviation sector," he said.

Charge D'Affaires at the US Embassy Steven White said India, the second fastest growing economy after China, is very attractive market for the US companies.

In 2007, the U.S. exports to India surged 75 percent to all-time high of $17.6 billion while the US direct investment in India expanded by 40 percent to reach a cumulative $12.4 billion, he said.

The US exports to India in the civil aviation sector have grown from $2 billion in 2006 to $6 billion in 2007, accounting for 34.4 percent of total US exports to India, White added.