Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal will visit San Francisco, United States of America, from 13th to 16th November 2023 to attend the various official engagements of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). He will also interact with eminent business persons, prominent academics, US officials and industry leaders during the visit to further strengthen economic and commercial relations partnership between the two nations. 

The Commerce and Industry Minister will participate in the third in-person IPEF Ministerial meeting from November 13-14, 2023, which is likely to see significant updates on the progress of negotiations. The Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with the US Secretary of Commerce, USTR and Ministers from other IPEF partner countries on the sidelines of the IPEF Ministerial. 

The Minister would be representing India at the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) - IPEF Investor Forum meeting on November 16, 2023. The Minister would also be representing India at the APEC Economic Leaders Engagements from November 15-16, 2023. India has been invited to the 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting 2023 as a Guest Economy. 

During the visit, the Commerce and Industry Minister will have bilateral meetings with US Commerce Secretary, Ms. Gina Raimondo, USTR, Ms. Katherine Tai and representatives from various sectors and industries. These meetings will focus on addressing trade barriers, promoting investments, and fostering greater cooperation in areas such as technology and innovation. 

One of the key focus of the visit will be the joint event, co-chaired with US Commerce Secretary, Ms. Gina Raimondo on “India-USA Innovation Handshake Initiative”, with the aim to lift up and connect the two sides’ dynamic startup ecosystems, address specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation, and promote further innovation and job growth, particularly in emerging technologies. 

The Commerce and Industry Minister will also participate in the investors roundtable along with one-to-one meetings with CEOs. He will also interact with various stakeholders such as students, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and Indian diaspora etc. Shri Goyal is expected to interact with globally renowned technology, entrepreneurship, and academic communities in the Bay Area, specifically, in the Silicon Valley to undertake focused discussions with American companies looking to invest or expand in India across sectors - Electronics (including Semiconductor), Technology, FinTech etc.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the IPEF launch event along with President of the United States, Mr. Joe Biden; Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Kishida Fumio; and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23, 2022 at Tokyo. In the first-ever in-person Ministerial meeting in September 2022, Pillar-wise Ministerial statements were issued outlining the broad contours of text-based negotiations. In December 2022, negotiations on all the four Pillar Agreements were launched and in May 2023, negotiations on the Pillar-II Agreement were substantially concluded. 

The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic engagement among partner countries with the goal of advancing growth, peace and prosperity in the region. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to Trade (Pillar I); Supply Chains (Pillar II); Clean Economy (Pillar III); and Fair Economy (Pillar IV).  

India is committed to a free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific Region and would work towards deepening economic cooperation among partners for growth and prosperity of the region. The framework is inclusive and allows flexibility to partner countries to associate with pillars based on their respective priorities.

Both India and USA are natural partners and have trade complementarities, long standing strategic and economic relationship, people to people contact, and both are vibrant democracies too. The two countries are also collaborating under other frameworks such as QUAD and I2U2 (India-Israel/ UAE-USA). Regular exchanges at the leadership-level have been an integral element of the expanding bilateral engagement. The visit reflects the determination to forge strong and mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships that will not only benefit the economies of both India and the USA but also contribute to the overall prosperity and welfare of their respective citizens. 

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