India can be the anchor for US business and investment: Juster

Anishaa Kumar

On the eve of the inauguration of the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), set to be inaugurated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and First Daughter and Special Advisor to President of the United States, Ivanka Trump, newly appointed US Ambassador to India, Kenneth L Juster highlighted the importance of encouraging entrepreneurs and the US and India ties.

The GES will be Juster’s first major event since his confirmation as US Ambassador to India. Speaking to the media a day before the three-day (November 28-30) event to be held in Hyderabad, Juster said, “This is the most dynamic region of the world and the India and US are major democracies playing an important role in the Indo-Pacific region.”

This year, the event focusses on women entrepreneurs.

Speaking about the importance of the theme of the event, Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog, said, “Women entrepreneurship is critical for India’s growth. Therefore, this theme of the GES 2017 comes at a very important juncture.”

According to Kant, the event is not an investor’s meet but rather a platform for entrepreneurs to interact and show their innovation to the rest of the world. “The event aims to create an eco-system to promote and encourage start-ups,” he added.

Ivanka Trump, who is leading the US delegation, will be joined by other high-powered officials including USAID administrator Mark Green and Overseas Private Investment Corporation President and CEO Ray W Washburne amongst others. They will be joined by various entrepreneurs across sectors.

Juster highlighted that this will be the largest US contingency to be present at any of the GES summits. The delegation will feature representatives from around 13 states in the US. The event will see the participation of entrepreneurs from India, the US and the rest of the world. The event will be focussing on key sectors namely, energy and infrastructure, digital economy and technology, healthcare and life sciences as well as media and entertainment.

Juster said, “The event is a sign of the very strong and strategic partnership between India and the United States.”

“The event will play a very important role in US and India’s relationship. The economic relationship needs to be as strategic as the security partnership. India should see itself, over a period of time, as the anchor for US business and investment in the region,” he added.

Indian speakers at the event will include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu, apart from young entrepreneurs and established business leaders from across the country.