Biden Meets Indian Business Honchos To Boost Trade

Earlier, in a speech on U.S-India Partnership at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Biden called for further expanding the growing economic cooperation with India and expressed hope that, if the right choices are made, bilateral trade could grow five-fold.

Lauding India as "a rising power", Biden said trade between India and the U.S. grew five-fold to touch $100 billion in the past 13 years.

"We see tremendous opportunity and there is no reason that if our countries make the right choices, the trade cannot grow five-fold or more," Biden said.

Welcoming the relaxation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in certain sectors, Biden felt that a lot more was needed to be done to remove trade barriers.

“We have to do a lot of work on a wide range of issues like limits in FDI, inconsistent tax system, market access barriers, civil nuclear cooperation, bilateral investment treaty and policies protecting innovations," Biden said.

The first U.S. vice president to visit India in over three decades, Biden appreciated India's regional role and welcomed its engagement and efforts to develop new trade and transportation links by land and sea.

He also acknowledged the role of the Indian community in America's growth story, saying the U.S. has benefitted due to the "Indian human capital".

Dwelling on Americanties with China, Biden termed it as "a healthy mix of competition and co-operation".

He called for enhanced engagement between India, China and the U.S. "The cooperation between the three big nations will help grow the world economy," he said.

Biden, accompanied by his wife Jill Biden, their daughter Ashley and son-in-law Howard D. Crein, arrived in Mumbai early Wednesday on the second leg of his visit to India.

The Bidens will also visit the new premises of the U.S. Consulate at the Bandra-Kurla Complex and interact with the staff, an embassy spokesperson added.

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