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Geeta Goindi

WASHINGTON - The 36th anniversary celebrations of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) opened with a gala networking reception, drawing over 300 influential business leaders, government officials, policy-makers, journalists, experts and members of leading think tanks, to the magnificent National Building Museum in our capital.

Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican co-founder and co-chair of the India Caucus in the US Senate, stated, at the outset, that the event celebrates the “strong relationship between the US and India”.  He spoke of shared values, India being the largest democracy in the world, the United States being the oldest.  “We also share similar security concerns as well in a very dangerous world”, he said, adding that “now, we see a series of successes in this sector over the last few years”.

The USIBC, founded in 1975, is the premier business advocacy organization representing some 400 top-tier US and Indian companies, led by Chairman Terry McGraw, President and CEO of The McGraw Hill Companies, and President Ron Somers.

At the reception on Wednesday, Somers said, the event “is a celebration of friendship and that’s the reason we wanted to get everyone here together under this beautiful roof tonight, at the National Building Museum.  In this beautiful building, we wanted to celebrate the US-India partnership.  When I think of the vanguard of that relationship, I have to be thinking about all the people in this room that with their hearts and with their grit have moved the relationship forward”.  He profoundly thanked the business community, US government officials and representatives of the Government of India, visiting delegations from India led by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and AmCham India, for propelling the bilateral relationship forward.

Somers was quick to point out that “the one great constant that has been there from the very beginning of USIBC’s 36-year history - all the 36 years starting in 1975 till now - has been the Indian-American community.  Thank you for what you have done for the US-India partnership”, he said.  “When you think of the tough times, when you think of the headwinds that we have faced, when you believed when no one else believed that there was a partnership possible between these two dynamic democracies, it was the Indian-American bridge that reached across the far shores and said, we believe in this partnership and joined with the business community, the Indian community and the policies community in both countries.  We have forged what is today, a crowning partnership - one that will shape the destiny of the 21st century”!

About Senator Cornyn, he acknowledged appreciatively that “he has added extraordinary vitality to the US-India Caucus”.

In his remarks at the reception, Senator Cornyn emphasized the importance of strengthening India-US defense ties.  “I believe that defense cooperation between our two countries is important because we share the same strategic challenges, and many of the same values such as respect for religious pluralism, respect for other views, and a belief that a growing economy brings greater jobs and prosperity, greater political freedom for all of our people whether they live here in the US or in India, and that is good for all of us”, he said.

The lawmaker pointed out that the two nations signed a 10-year Defense Agreement in 2005 and India now conducts more military exercises with the United States than any other country in the world.  He believed it was a good sign that “India has begun to purchase US military aircraft” and that “American defense contractors have also sold other security equipment” to the world’s largest democracy.

The Indian government recently announced it’s decision to purchase 10 Boeing C-17 aircraft valued at over $4.1 billion.  When delivered, the Indian Air Force will own the largest fleet of C-17s, after the United States.

A bone of contention has been India’s rejection of Boeing’s F-18 and Lockheed Martin’s F-16, in favor of European companies.  The effective loss of the MMRCA contest has dealt a blow to the fighter business of these US companies and adversely impacted job growth here.  “I know a lot of Americans were disappointed when India passed the opportunity to acquire combat jet equipment”, said Senator Cornyn.

But, he was upbeat about a possible $11 billion fighter jet sale to India.  Looking around the Great Hall of the spacious museum, he said, “I am excited to tell you that in the Defense Authorization Bill that recently passed out of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Joe Lieberman (the Connecticut Independent) provided a detailed assessment of potential future sales of the F-35".

The USIBC meet was a two-day event, beginning with a networking reception and followed by a Summit, designed primarily to take stock of India-US commercial relations and calibrate a course to further advance ties between the world’s largest free-market democracies for mutual prosperity!

Senator Cornyn told the gathering of primarily top business leaders that “trade and investment between our two countries is growing”.  In his home state of Texas, he mentioned that exports have grown from 1.3 billion in 2006 to 2.1 billion in 2010.  “Trade is a good thing in terms of creating jobs and opportunities in both our countries”, he said.  “But, I think bilateral trade and investment can grow further, particularly in the area of defense and security cooperation”.

Somers noted that “in 2001, US-India defense trade was $250 million.  Ten years later, we are at $9.5 billion.  So, that has been a wonderful trajectory going straight up”, he said.

Like Somers, Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, the erstwhile GOP co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, lauded the Indian-American community.  “In my law practice, I had the privilege and opportunity of representing so many Indian-Americans buying and developing hotels and motels in my home state of South Carolina”, he told the elite gathering.  “It is a classic example of where the Indian-American community has made such a difference in creating jobs”.

Congressman Wilson drew attention to the fact that South Carolina is now the second state to have an Indian-American Governor (after Bobby Jindal was elected Governor of Louisiana), and the first state to have a female Indian-American Governor - Nikki Randhawa Haley.  He lavished praise on Dino Teppara, his former Chief-of-Staff, one of the highest ranking Indian-Americans to serve as Congressional staff in Washington.  Dino “himself, is an indication of success”, said the lawmaker.

Mr. Harsh Mariwala, President of FICCI, chairman and managing director of Marico Limited, believed that “USIBC has done a great service in building Indo-US business relations.  On behalf of Indian industry, and FICCI in particular, I would like to thank Terry McGraw and Ron Somers for putting Indo-US relations at the center of policy”, he told the gathering at the reception.

While noting that “bilateral trade between India and the US is rising”, Mr. Mariwala underscored that “the Bilateral Investment Treaty (which provides incentives for greater two-way foreign direct investment) between the two countries must be finalized as soon as possible”.

He described the Indian economy as “robust, growing at a rate of 8-9 percent in terms of GDP growth.  Even in difficult times, we have seen growth rates of 6-7 percent”, he said.  “A large Indian population, combined with growth, has attracted global attention.  This is a time when India has arrived on the global scene and I believe we will see an increasing interest in India as we go forward”.

Mr. Mariwala maintained that “the interaction between India and the US cuts across a broad range of issues - strategic, global governance and investments.  There may be roadblocks.  But, if we persevere, considering the fact that we both are democracies, we will succeed in the long run”, he declared.

At the reception. Senator Cornyn reminisced, “The way I ended up getting involved in the US-India relationship is because one of my constituents from Dallas encouraged me to visit India which I did with my wife, about 6 years ago, and I came back so energized and excited about the prospects and frankly concerned about the lack of strong ties or as strong as they should be.  I was motivated along with the then Senator Hillary Clinton to start the US-India Caucus in the United States Senate.  In my state, we have a large and dynamic Indian population which contributes much to the character of our communities and our country”, he said.