India-US USDFC aims to invest USD 350 million in India: Melinda Pavek
Kolkata/IBNS: Melinda Pavek, Consul General of USA in Kolkata, addressed the members of Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC) at a special session on 'Current and Future Perspectives of Trade and Investment between the USA and India' Friday.
On the future of investment in India, Pavek said the US International Development Finance Corporation (USDFC) has aimed to invest $350 million in India to support the country’s financial services sector, health infrastructure, renewable energy and the food security space.
On the issue of pending visa applications, Pavek said the Consulate General in Kolkata is moving according to the directions received from Washington.
The Consulate has been struggling with reduced staff partly because of the pandemic and also due to travel restrictions still continuing on account of which staff from the US have not been able to rejoin.
She said the Consulate is open and transparent to the people that there would be a wait, however, the Consulate is offering procedures like scheduling meetings for emergency purposes.
During the session, the Bharat Chamber of Commerce expressed optimism regarding a secure position of Indian manufactures in the U.S supply chain, based on the economic recovery India is currently witnessing.
This perspective was supported by the fact that India is the fifth largest Foeign Direct Investment (FDI) receiver in the world.
India is the top trading partner for the U.S, while its counterpart is the fifth largest FDI investor for the southeast Asian nation.
Pavek said India and the US have always been mutually beneficial in terms of economic growth and development.
She stated that currently the FDI from India to the US amounts to US$ 12.7 billion and exports are approximately US$ 2.2 billion in value.
“India has been highly instrumental in creating jobs in the US which are close to 70,000," she added.
On the pertinent issue of climate change, Pavek mentioned the India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership that was launched by the US President Joe Biden and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The strategic partnership includes the U.S set economy-wide target of reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels in 2030 and India's target of installing 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
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