On July 12, the United States of America will host the US-India CEO Forum. This annual meeting of government and industry was launched by President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 and is designed to enhance bilateral trade and strengthen economic cooperation between our companies and our people. We look to the forum to develop new approaches in enhancing the economic and people-topeople ties that drive our bilateral relationship, and that have already led to $100 billion in bilateral trade along with significant increases in employment and cultural engagement.
The timing of this year's forum, coming on the heels of John Kerry's first visit to India as secretary of state and conclusion of our fourth Strategic Dialogue, marks significant opportunity to work toward the realisation of mutual goals in such important areas as employment, clean energy and education.
Private deals too
A top priority as US ambassador to India has been to improve the already vibrant economic and business relationship between our countries. Our economies grow more prosperous and our societies grow stronger through trade, tourism, investment and the exchange of students, scientists and workers. This makes it essential for our two governments to create an enabling business environment in which all facets of our relationship can flourish. This will require working together to ensure confidence and stability, while continuing to overcome barriers to trade and investment. We have already done much to encourage economic growth and cooperation. Since 2010, the US department of treasury and India's ministry of finance have led an Economic and Financial Partnership under which government and central bank officials discuss macroeconomic and financial policy, infrastructure finance and trade and investment. Our ongoing Commercial Dialogue has made progress on issues ranging from smart grids and intelligent transportation systems to intellectual property rights and support for small and medium enterprises. Our highly successful American Business Corners (ABC) programme has worked to provide Indian entrepreneurs outside of the major metropolitan areas with information about trade and investment opportunities with the US. ABCs are up and running in 12 cities throughout India, helping to forge the kind of business-to-business contacts that allow for greater trade, employment and growth.
As Secretary Kerry made clear in his visit, combating global climate change is among the most important challenges of our age. He highlighted the economic opportunities that a green energy economy offers to India and the US. Already, the US and India have joined forces on a host of initiatives to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases while creating new opportunities for business and new high-skilled jobs for our people. That is why the Clean Energy Finance Center — a partnership of five US government agencies — has provided roughly $2 billion in renewable energy financing to India, including financing for over 20% of India's first 1,000 megawatts of installed solar energy capacity. Yet our government initiatives alone will not be enough; we will always depend critically on the leadership and innovation of our dynamic private sectors. US companies such as ReNew Power, Azure Power and Sun Edison have pioneered the development of grid-connect solar power projects in India. The relationship flows both ways — as of 2013, Reliance IndustriesBSE -0.06 % has invested over $6 billion in US shale gas.
