India and the US have agreed to fast-track the technical negotiations to expedite the conclusion of the Bilateral Investment Agreement. There would be two rounds of negotiations before the next meeting of the ministerial-level Trade Policy Forum (TPF) expected to be held in October in India.
This development happened during a meeting between the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, and the US Trade Representative, Mr Ron Kirk, on Wednesday, an official statement said on Thursday. Mr Sharma and Mr Kirk also agreed to re-invigorate the TPF and make it more robust and effective in resolving bilateral commercial issues, while maintaining the political leadership of the process, it added.
Mr Sharma apprised Mr Kirk of the opportunities for the US businesses to develop partnerships with the Indian private sector in sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture and agro-processing, food processing, cold chain logistics and manufacturing of electronic devices including chip design.
Earlier on Wednesday, addressing policy makers and economists at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Mr Sharma talked about India's plans to create National Manufacturing and Investment Zones, which would become hubs of innovation and manufacturing.