Today, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews delivered keynote remarks at the 3rd Smart Cities Summit in Mumbai, India. The Summit brought together hundreds of leaders from across the public and private sectors to discuss opportunities in smart city development.

Deputy Secretary Andrews is in India this week leading a Smart Cities Infrastructure Business Development trade mission. He is joined by representatives from 18 leading American companies, as well as Lee Zak, Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The delegation visited Delhi earlier this week and will travel to Chennai tomorrow.

Remarks As Prepared For Delivery

Good morning, everyone.  I want to thank the Smart Cities Council of India for organizing this summit and for their leadership in promoting the creation of sustainable, 21^st century cities.

I first came to Mumbai in 2011, and every time I come back, I'm amazed by how much the city has grown. When I arrived at the airport, it didn’t take long for the changes – for the improvements – to become apparent. The last time I was here, you were just starting construction on a new air terminal. Today, that terminal is fully operational and a testament to this city’s evolution.

The pace and scale of urbanization in India is truly remarkable. 300 million people are expected to move to India's cities over the next twenty years – roughly the entire population of the United States. This means that the decisions that India makes today about how to handle that growth will have huge implications on the future of this country – and the world.

India has the chance to be a leader in the world’s efforts to address global challenges like climate change, as well as a leader in the competition for capital and top talent. Consider the potential of Vizag the largest city in Andhra Pradesh. Like Mumbai, Vizag is growing rapidly. Cost competitive conditions, significant port activity, and a growing IT economy – among other factors – have made the city attractive for both foreign investors and Indian citizens seeking upward mobility.

But as its population expands, Vizag will experience a number of challenges. Stresses on its transportation, water, and sanitation capabilities, plus the environmental impact of such rapid growth – all represent problems that must be tackled now if Vizag is to grow sustainably into the future. That is why Vizag is one of the first 20 municipalities selected under Prime Minister Modi’s plans to develop 100 smart cities and why it was named one of three Indian cities for which the United States will serve as a lead partner.

Just last month, Vizag was selected as a winner of the Global City Teams Challenge, which is sponsored for the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology. In addition, part of our delegation will travel there later this week, and our U.S. Trade and Development Agency will host a delegation of 10 leaders from the region for a reverse trade mission later this month.

Simply put, smart cities represent the future of urbanization, technology, and sustainability – not just in India, but around the world. As cities like Mumbai and Vizag expand, policymakers must address the growing demands of rapid urbanization. These decisions will greatly impact India’s ability to attract top talent and our world’s ability to address major environmental challenges like climate change.

Fortunately, India is not alone in addressing these challenges. Building the smart cities of the future requires all of us to work together and share lessons from around the world just as we did in Paris during the recent climate summit. After years of hard work, the world came together around a historic agreement to take real action that will reduce carbon pollution and slow the world’s changing climate. The commitments that India, the United States, and nearly 200 other countries made in Paris demonstrate that this is a global problem that requires a truly global solution.

The United States is proud to call India a partner in the world’s fight against climate change. As both of our countries undertake the difficult work of living up to our shared commitments, we must make clear that dealing with a changing climate is not just critical to protect our citizens, but also good business.

We have seen in the United States and around the world that sustainability drives economic growth. When the United States took steps to reduce smog and pollution in Los Angeles in the 1970s, it did not hamper the growth of one of America’s greatest cities but made it a more attractive place to live and work. When we raised fuel economy standards to make American cars more fuel efficient, it did not kill our auto industry. It forced the industry to stretch itself and develop new, innovative technologies. Today, American car manufacturers are stronger than ever before.

This brings me to the reason I'm here in India this week: The United States can be a valuable partner in helping India to develop a 21^st century, sustainable economy, and U.S. companies are the backbone of that relationship.

The United States is not alone in developing innovative solutions. But I am confident that the lessons we’ve learned about using technology to solve environmental challenges will make our companies highly effective partners here in India.

I am joined today by representatives from 18 leading American environmental technology companies – all of whom are looking for new business opportunities in India's growing infrastructure market. I’d like to invite them to stand up. These companies have a proven track record of deploying clean energy and environmental technologies all over the globe. In many ways, they are among the very best of U.S. industry.

For example, Silver Spring Networks has developed a router that enables cities, utilities, and energy service companies to easily, securely, and cost-effectively control any smart city device. And Xylem invented a new process that makes it more sustainable and cheaper to purify and reuse water.

Our goal this week is to connect these American businesses with opportunities in green infrastructure development – while introducing Indian policymakers, businesses, and urban planners to the world-class services offered by U.S. companies.

In addition to the 18 companies, I am joined by Lee Zak from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, a grant making agency that funds feasibility studies and technical assistance. You’ll have the opportunity to hear from her during the breakout sessions later today.

Our presence here today underscores America's deep commitment to the U.S.-India relationship. This relationship is already thriving. Two-way trade has almost tripled in the last decade. American exports to India reached $37.2 billion in 2014, and Indian imports in the U.S. totaled $65.7 billion. The sheer size and dynamism of our two economies means that there is tremendous opportunity to expand bilateral trade and investment even further. Now is the time to deepen our already strong commercial relationship through collaboration on initiatives like smart cities.

But as we explore new ways to collaborate, we will not realize the full potential of our relationship if we don’t tackle lingering challenges – particularly in India’s business climate. To help build India’s smart cities, greater U.S. private sector investment will depend on addressing persistent business challenges.

For example, capital-intensive infrastructure projects are often delayed by protracted legal disputes and the inability to find financing. This can be addressed by improving firms' access to private capital, including through further development of India's capital markets and improvements to the framework for public-private partnerships.

To that end, we were pleased to see the results of the Kelkar Committee report recently released by the Ministry of Finance, and we look forward to seeing those recommendations implemented.

Ultimately, U.S. companies – and investors from around the world – need markets with clear public-private partnership structures, predictable regulatory environments, and strong intellectual property protections. Progress has been made on some broader market access issues, but more can be done.

The reality is that urbanization is reshaping the global economy and changing the way that people live around the world. There are great companies offering technology or services to make cities smarter – but they cost money. The good news is that there are billions of dollars waiting to be invested to deploy climate-friendly solutions.

Attracting this money is a competition. The question is whether India can outcompete the rest of the world for those investment dollars. From the United States to China, from Germany to Japan, countries all over the world are taking steps to make their markets more attractive to international firms. In a world with mobility of capital, it is not enough to simply make your market slightly more attractive or to make it slightly easier to do business. You must do everything you can to make your market the most attractive investment destination it can be.

Put simply: in the fight for capital, you need to make it easier to do business if you’re going to compete with other markets – markets without local content requirements or with easier financing structures, for example.

The United States wants India to succeed. We are friends and allies. As the world’s two largest democracies, we must come together to meet our common challenges.  That is why we are working with our Indian counterparts to address issues that industry has identified as impediments to future investment.

We are using our Strategic & Commercial Dialogue and the U.S.-India CEO Forum to find solutions to complex problems, while also highlighting areas of cooperation that benefit both our countries. For example, through the S&CD, we are addressing four issues that we believe will unlock new opportunities for both U.S. and Indian companies: ease of doing business; infrastructure; innovation and entrepreneurship; and standards. We are at the halfway point between the last S&CD and this year’s meeting. Our trade mission represents another milestone that will help ensure progress in the months ahead. Achieving our goals requires increased engagement with the private sectors in both countries, which is why we have linked the CEO Forum with the S&CD.

Our private sectors are a critical partner in driving our dialogue forward and holding our two governments accountable. To that end, today's summit is another opportunity to bring together our public and private sectors to discuss how our countries can work together.

I challenge each of you to use this opportunity to collaborate and come up with creative solutions. Go to a session you wouldn't normally attend and see if the speaker can give you some new ideas. Approach a stranger on the show floor and ask how they’re making their city smarter and more sustainable.

Talk to our American companies during the coffee breaks and at lunch about how their technology is already improving the way people live in cities in the United States and in countries around the world.  If you don’t get a chance to catch them at the Summit today, please refer to the delegation booklets we have distributed and follow up with our trade mission members later.

Just as when we all came together in Paris to commit to addressing climate change, building 100 smart cities in India is going to require all of us working together.

India faces a challenging road ahead to achieve its economic and environmental ambitions, but the U.S. government and the American business community stand ready to partner with you. At the same time, this is not a one-way street. Many Indian companies are at the forefront of developing innovative green infrastructure solutions. We welcome their expertise and investment in the United States.

We want to be partners – because India's success is critical to the future of both the global economy and the world's fight to address climate change. Working together, we can help India not only build the foundation for a sustainable, green future – but, in the process, show the world how to create truly 21^st century cities. Thank you.