The growing Indo-US trade seems to be showing signs of touching the coveted $100-billion-mark for the first time this year.
“If the trade in services and goods continues to expand at its current pace it will surpass $100
billion in 2011 for the first year in record,” said Mr Geoffrey R. Pyatt, principal deputy secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, the Government of USA.
India is also a growing source of foreign direct investment into the US and it is the seventh fastest growing source of investment in the US. “Present statistics point to the potential for even greater innovation and business development between our two knowledge-based societies,” Mr Pyatt said.
The task ahead was to open doors for greater private sector engagement, he added.
Stating that India has long been an Asian power in its own right, he expressed US government’s happiness over India’s growing outreach toward a comprehensive vision for the East Asia region – a ‘Look East’ policy that is becoming an ‘Act East’ policy.
On the doubling of crossborder trade envisioned by Indian and Pakistani commerce ministers within three years, he said it was certainly within reach.
India’s current global imports are over $328 billion, less than one per cent of which comes from Pakistan.