The commercial relationship between United States and India has long stood as a core pillar of the alliance between our two countries. The United States is committed to reinvigorating ties with India and expanding our economic partnership. That is why U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker traveled to India this week, where she joined U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi. Their trip marks the first U.S. Cabinet-level visit to New Delhi since the new Indian government was elected. Earlier this week, Secretary Pritzker visited Mumbai for meetings with Indian business leaders to discuss new avenues to reinvigorate economic ties between our two nations.

While in Mumbai, Secretary Pritzker delivered remarks at an event hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), focused on the U.S. commitment to partner with the newly-elected Indian government, especially in areas of infrastructure, manufacturing, and business investment. Founded over 115 years ago, CII is one of the most important business groups in India and plays an active role in India’s development process.

As part of efforts to advance the U.S.-India economic partnership, Vinai Thummalapally and Chairman & Managing Director of Export-Import Bank of India Yaduvendra Mathur signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) between SelectUSA and the India’s Export-Import Bank. This MOI will encourage collaboration to attract Indian investment to the United States. SelectUSA is the first U.S. government-wide program to promote and facilitate business investment in the United States. Export-Import Bank of India directly supports Indian foreign direct investments abroad.

Secretary Pritzker also met with the Foreign Commercial Service staff in Mumbai and thanked them for their service to American businesses. The Commercial Service, part of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, helps U.S. firms start exporting or increase sales to new global markets. The Foreign Commercial Service has its largest number of overseas offices in India, operating out of seven cities. These officers help to build stronger ties between U.S. and Indian businesses, and facilitate the export of U.S. goods and services to India’s growing markets.

The United States enjoys a robust trade and investment relationship with India. Two-way trade between the two countries has grown five-fold since 2000, reaching about $96 billion in 2013. U.S. companies have made investments in India totaling $28 billion, and Indian foreign direct investment in the U.S. stands at $9 billion.

However, there are still tremendous opportunities for further collaboration between the United States and India. The Strategic Dialogue later this week will play a key role in strengthening the commercial ties between the two countries, especially as the new Indian government defines its policy agenda to focus on economic growth and job creation.

The Department of Commerce, along with the rest of the Obama Administration, looks forward to identifying opportunities for U.S. companies to engage in the market and create increased prosperity in both of our nations.