Services trade can emerge as major cornerstone of Indo-US relations says Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

The minister was speaking at the inaugural session of 2nd Indo-US Services Summit, “Leveraging Services Sector to Trigger Post –COVID -19 Economic Recovery”, organised by Indo American Chamber of Commerce-NIC.

The Summit was held in the virtual mode.

The inaugural session focused on the role the services sector can play in the post-COVID scenario and the new avenues in which both the countries can partner, including legal services, hospitality, tourism, along with growth prospects for the already robust IT sector of the country which caters significantly to the US.

Noting that the services sector holds a lot of promise going forward, Goyal said, “While on the geopolitical or strategic front, India and the US are working together to provide peace and stability in the region, I think the services trade will play a very important role in our relations. It has played a greater role in the past, it has led to greater people-to-people cooperation and engagement.”

The Minister said that services exports have grown multi-fold in the past two decades from $17 million to $205 million.

Observing that both the countries can help each other in sectors in which they have comparative advantage, the Commerce Minister said, “US is a hub of innovation, technology, research, quality education and so much more. India has skilled and intelligent manpower, both technology and managerial, and we provide at competitive prices.” 
Michael Rosenthal, the Director, North India, US Embassy was of the view that there is a place to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities in the services sector today.

“It has the potential to unlock multi-trillion dollar growth which can create symbiotic development in our shared Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

He also said that most experts believe that the services sector can be the key driver of such growth post the pandemic as the sector includes multiple activities.

It is the largest sector in global economies and is especially important in developing economies, Rosenthal added.

In his welcome address of Dr Lalit Bhasin, Summit Chair & Executive Vice President, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce said that the first services’ summit, last year, held amidst the COVID -19 outbreak, helped in taking stock of the impact of the pandemic and suggest policy tailwinds to address upfront the economic disruptions created by one of the most potent viral  infections the world ever faced.

He said that there is a growing realization now that to get over the ill-effects of the pandemic, there should be cooperation among countries at multi-levels than ever before, particularly in services domains like healthcare, education and creating electronic platforms that  can value add to the governance  and making peoples’ interfaces safe.

Dr Bhasin said, “The first summit was held when the pandemic was raring to engulf the whole world.   Hopefully, the second summit is happening when there are positive signs of pandemic petering out. Sir, we look forward to your matured advice and guidance on how our organization can play a pivotal role in facilitating the post Covid-19 recovery vibes.”

Talking of the recent major development in the Indo-US relations, Raman Roy, Regional President, IACC-NIC, mentioned the recent visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to New Delhi and discussions with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar.

He said the US GDP grew 1.6 per cent in the second quarter of the year, up from 1.5 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Roy, who is also the Founder of Indian Angel Network and Former Chairman, NASSCOM, said, “The growth, fuelled by strong consumer spending and robust business investment, brought output, adjusted for inflation, back to its pre-pandemic level. That is welcome news amidst all concerns and challenges that we faced in the last almost two years. The US economic growth is a bellwether for the rest of the world.”

Citing the strides in the healthcare and legal services amid the pandemic, Rohit Kochhar, Regional Vice President, IACC-NIC said that the way services sector has leveraged technology to reinvent itself is a shining example of our creativity and innovation.

While the pandemic has struck crushing blows to industries and economies across the globe, Kochhar, who is also the Managing Partner at Kochhar & Co. said, “Time has come for us to create, ideate and innovate and write our own script for the path to recovery. The services Sector will undoubtedly be the torchbearer for this new journey of hope and resurgence.”

Regarding the importance of the services sector in the economic recovery, he said that the Indian services sector accounts for 55% of the country’s total GDP and globally, services represent two-thirds of economic output, and more than half of the world’s jobs.
 
The significance of the services sector therefore cannot be over-emphasised, and the way this sector has braved the Covid storm is really commendable, he said.

The major focus areas for the discussions included Information Technology, travel, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, energy and media & entertainment.