U.S. Department of Commerce Announces First-Ever Strategic and Economic Dialogue with India

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the inaugural U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD) and surrounding events will be held in Washington, D.C., from September 21 through September 22. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will be joined by their respective Indian co-chairs, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, along with members of the U.S. delegation and their Indian counterparts.

In January 2015, President Obama and Prime Minister Modi elevated the existing U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue to the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue to reflect the growing significance of the U.S.-India economic relationship.

Since 2010, the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue has been the primary forum to advance shared objectives in regional security, economic cooperation, defense trade and climate challenges. With a new commercial track, the United States and India will focus additional attention on shared priorities of generating economic growth, creating jobs, improving the investment climate, and strengthening the middle class in both countries.

To increase the role of the private sector, for the first time ever, the Department of Commerce will host its U.S.-India CEO Forum on September 21, in close proximity to the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue in Washington, D.C. The CEO Forum -- chaired by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Caroline Atkinson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy U.S. National Security Adviser for International Economics -- is the primary mechanism for engaging the U.S. and Indian private sectors and leveraging business leaders' recommendations to shape policymaking discussions.

The private sector co-chairs will give a readout of their recommendations at the S&CD meeting on September 22.

As part of the CEO Forum, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will host a half -day event featuring remarks from Secretary Pritzker and Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, and a discussion between U.S. and Indian CEOs on efforts to deepen bilateral economic engagement. 

The U.S. CEOs selected for this year’s Forum include:

• Ajay Banga, President and CEO – MasterCard, Inc.
• Mary Barra, CEO – General Motors
• Sanjay Bhatnagar, President and CEO – WaterHealth International
• Michael Burke, Chairman and CEO – AECOM Technology Corporation
• Ahmad Chatila, CEO – SunEdison, Inc.
• *David Cote, Chairman and CEO – Honeywell International, Inc.; Forum Co-Chair
• Andres Gluski, President and CEO – AES Corporation
• Paul Jacobs, Executive Chairman – Qualcomm, Inc.
• Charles R. Kaye, Co-CEO – Warburg Pincus, LLC
• Ellen Kullman, Chair and CEO – DuPont
• Andrew Liveris, Chairman and CEO – The Dow Chemical Company
• Michael Mahoney, President and CEO – Boston Scientific Corporation
• Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO – Adobe Systems, Inc.
• Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO – PepsiCo, Inc.
• Dinesh Paliwal, Chairman, President and CEO – Harman International Industries
• Douglas Peterson, President and CEO – McGraw Hill Financial
• James Taiclet, Chairman, President and CEO – American Tower Corporation

For more information on the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD), please contact [email protected].  Members of the press wishing to attend the U.S.-India CEO Forum must RSVP to [email protected].