The Indian Panorama

Tag: Dr Mukesh Aghi

  • India-US partnership to grow regardless of who wins presidential election: Mukesh Aghi

    India-US partnership to grow regardless of who wins presidential election: Mukesh Aghi

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): The India-US relationship would continue its upward trajectory regardless of who wins the presidential elections, USISPF president and CEO Mukesh Aghi said, underlining that the contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump was “too close to call”.

    The geopolitical alignment between the two countries is very strong, Aghi said in an interview with PTI on Thursday, September 5.

    “What are the implications, regardless of who comes in? I think India stays critical to US geopolitical ambitions. That is trying to contain the rise of aggressive China. It also serves India’s interest. That it has a partner to deal with a neighbor who will never accept India as an equal partner.

    “The alignment geopolitically is very, very strong between the two countries. So, regardless of who comes in, either Trump or Kamala Harris, the partnership will continue to go in that direction,” he said.

    The US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) chief said the elections are “very, very close” at the moment. Even though the momentum has “shifted in favor of” Harris, “it is too close to call, especially when you have an electoral college and we expect around 40,000 votes to make a difference among the swing states itself”.

    Amidst tension between the US and China, the American corporate sector is looking at de-risking that supply chain, Aghi said. “Yes, you have countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand providing but nothing can provide the scale India can provide. So, India becomes critical in the de-risking of the supply chain. But more importantly, India also becomes a market for a lot of these companies,” he said.

    “Then you have what we call the Indian-American diaspora here, which is roughly 1 per cent of the population, producing almost 6 per cent of the GDP. They will play a very pivotal role between the two countries. So, regardless of who comes in, the relationship will continue to grow deeper, broader and much more robust,” Aghi said.

    The foreign policy and the India-US relationship would definitely have an impact on the leadership of Trump and Harris, he noted.

    “You have to understand the style. Trump’s is a very transactional style, whereas Biden and Kamala Harris have been very structural,” he added. “While Biden and Harris have been able to build a coalition of partners to help them take this relationship forward, Trump has focused on transactions. What we see is the transaction(al) approach will continue under Trump. There’s a strong relationship between Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and (former) President Trump,” Aghi said. The USISPF chief also applauded the role played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in driving the India-US relationship.

    “You have a prime minister who was refused visa to the United States. But I think he kept his personal affront aside and looked to the broader interests of India.

    “He felt that the United States is critical to the economic growth. The United States is critical for investment. The United States is critical for technology transfer. And he focused on building those relationships, worked very hard with President (Barack) Obama, and then worked with Trump and then with Biden,” Aghi said.

    “I believe that the process will continue when he comes to New York for the UNGA week later this month,” he said.
    (Source: PTI)

  • Ambassador Sandhu has been one of the leading architects of India-US relationship: USISPF head

    Ambassador Sandhu has been one of the leading architects of India-US relationship: USISPF head

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): In his remarks at a farewell reception hosted in honor of the outgoing Indian envoy here on Thursday, January 25, Mukesh Aghi, the president and CEO of US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said Sandhu’s resume of achievements remains long and impressive.

    “Ambassador Sandhu has been one of the leading architects of this relationship, which stands at its apex from the deep synergy in clean energy, education partnership, space collaboration, defense, and technology ties,” said at the farewell organized by the USISPF.

    Sandhu, 61, retires from the foreign service after 35 years of diplomatic career this month.

    However, when Ambassador Sandhu took the helm in Washington in February 2020, ominous times were about to upend the economies and suspend daily lives, Aghi said, adding that a cataclysmic pandemic meant new challenges even for a veteran diplomat.

    Sandhu steered through COVID-19, helping Indian students return home, working through visa backlogs for the diaspora, and strengthening vaccine diplomacy between the two countries.

    “A post-Covid-era saw the onset of Ambassador Sandhu helping lead the first in-principal Quad Summit in Washington, the restart of the Trade Policy Forum, and then the onset of the I2U2, IPEF, consolidating bilateral ties in multilateral settings,” he said.

    The I2U2 is a grouping of Israel, India, the United Arab Emirates and the United States to deepen technological and private sector collaboration in the region and tackle transnational challenges in six focus areas: water, energy, transportation, space, health and food security.

    The United States launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) along with countries like India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for participant economies.

    “Today, the Indo-Pacific is a priority as Ambassador Sandhu has overseen new defense partnerships, from iCET to INDUS-X, to drone transfers to jet engine manufacturing deals, from semiconductors to supply chains, ushering in a new chapter in critical technology,” Aghi said.

    The highlights of Sandhu’s tenure, he said, would be the historic state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden’s first visit to India as Commander-in-chief for a momentous G20 summit, and also organizing former president Donald Trump’s maiden visit to the country.

    However, one must remember that the relationship was not always smooth sailing, he noted.

    “Sandhu’s perspicacity was evinced early on, during his first Washington stint as the First Secretary (Political) as he formed crucial relations on Capitol Hill, with both Democrat and Republican lawmakers, during a time of sanctions from the Clinton Administration,” he said. “Today, the relationship is truly bipartisan, and the India Caucus and the Samosa Caucus, are in deep admiration of Ambassador Sandhu’s diplomatic efforts to steer the relationship from choppy waters then to the pristine seas now,” Aghi said.

    His second stint in Washington was as second in command to S Jaishankar, as then DCM Sandhu and Ambassador Jaishankar, wrote the beginning chapters of Prime Minister Modi’s engagement with the United States, he noted.

    “But more important than the dossiers, visits, and agreements, have been the intangible bonds of friendship that Ambassador Sandhu has forged with the diaspora. From young students to veteran business leaders, from entrepreneurs to titans, from cultural communities and caucuses, the diaspora across the US has at least one Ambassador Sandhu story,” he said.

    “Historians will note that he changed the nature of the relationship, forged new connections, strengthened the strategic partnership, and above all remained affable and humble in challenging and celebratory times,” Aghi said.

    Ashley Tellis, a top American expert on India, in his remarks, said that Sandhu has been an insidious contributor to this relationship because he understood right from the beginning how important this partnership is for the future of both countries.

    “In his last tenure here in Washington, he had to deal with a very complex environment in terms of our bilateral relationship. But the fact that we have still managed to stay the course and move this relationship ever upward is a great tribute to you, Taranjit,” Tellis said. Eminent Indian American defense expert Vikram Singh said Sandhu has been a steward of this relationship for an entire generation. “For those of us who have been involved, it’s been one of the best parts of our jobs trying to advance this relationship to have you as our partner. You are sought, kind of irreplaceable because you have this long span of history of the period of growth, dynamism, and transformation of the US-India partnership,” Singh said.

    In his remarks, Sandhu recollected the words of Prime Minister Modi at an event hosted by USISPF in the city in which he said that the US-India partnership is not just for convenience, but for conviction, compassion and of shared commitment for a better future. “So, our relationship touches the people. It is for development,” Sandhu said.
    (Source: PTI)

  • On his third US tour, Chhattisgarh CM eyes investment in ‘Priority Industries’

    On his third US tour, Chhattisgarh CM eyes investment in ‘Priority Industries’

    NEW YORK CITY (TIP): Every time he comes to the US, he ‘takes home something new.’ On his third US tour, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr Raman Singh wooed investors to invest in new sectors, highlighting the tremendous potential across those sectors in the state that has been declared as the ‘Best fiscally managed State’ by Reserve Bank of India. Singh, currently on an official tour of the US, highlighted investment opportunities in Chhattisgarh in front of a gathering at the Indian Consulate, New York on November 29. Senior state government officials accompanied him at the interactive luncheon event, jointly hosted by US India Business Council (USIBC) and the Consulate.

    In his welcome address, Subodh Kumar Singh, Secretary to Chief Minister and Commerce & Industries, described how some of the key initiatives under Raman Singh’s leadership including railway network, industrial infrastructure and smart cities in Chhattisgarh has become the main driver of growth and development in the State. He also briefed the audience about the priority industries for investment – food processing, energy, life sciences, defense, information technology, electronics, and manufacturing.

    Dr Mukesh Aghi, President of USIBC in his special remark, stressed on enhanced investment partnership between US and India.

    There was a brief Power Point presentation by Vivek Dhand, Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh, that highlighted recently implemented reforms including single window system, tax reforms, construction permits, environment & labor reforms, inspection reforms and commercial dispute and paperless courts. Given that the state came into existence only 16 years ago, he took the opportunity to mention that the World Bank has recently ranked Chhattisgarh fourth in Ease of Doing Business as per Ranking 2016 among all Indian states and Union Territories.

    While giving introduction of Dr Raman Singh, the longest ever serving Chief Minister from BJP, Deputy Consul General Dr Manoj Kumar Mohapatra said, “Indo-US relationship is measured by number of visits. In the last two years Prime Minister Modi and President Obama met more than 12 times. That shows the defining partnership.”

    Describing Chhattisgarh as ‘Heart of India’, the Chief Minister said, “I just want to tell you what it was 16 years back and what it is today.” Mentioning the reforms and policies undertaken during his tenure that has made the state a frontrunner in ease of doing business, Dr Singh said, “Chhattisgarh is the best destination for investment not just in the core sectors of mines and minerals but also in areas like IT, engineering and solar energy.”

    Noting that investors may not be fully aware of the investment opportunities in the young, not so known resource-rich state, Dr Singh invited investors to visit Chhattisgarh to see the investment potential of the state. “Come, see, and then invest.”

    A token of appreciation was presented to him by Dr Mukesh Aghi, followed by a Q&A session.

    During the brief Q & A session, Prof. Indrajit S Saluja asked the chief minister to clarify on the allegation of a Rs. 36000 crore scam in the public distribution system in the State. Dr. Singh categorically denied there was any scam. He said it was a conspiracy. 60 lakh families benefitted from the scheme and nobody complained. “Our PDS model is unique. So far, no other state could follow that model”, Mr. Singh said.


    Later, speaking with The Indian Panorama Chief Editor I S Saluja, in an exclusive interview, Dr Singh appealed to the NRIs to invest in Chhattisgarh. “Our state is the destination for investment. You will get all facilities there. The infrastructure is top class. I want investments in sectors like IT, engineering and solar energy. I am sure if they (NRIs) visit the state they will be convinced to invest. So, I want them to visit (Chhattisgarh).”

    When asked if he wants to invite the media to visit Chhattisgarh so that they can project the bright side of the state, Dr Singh said, “Of course. I would invite my media friends here to visit Chhattisgarh. Every year in the first week of November we organize special event to showcase the development activities of our state. I will invite the media from US to come and have a fair idea about our activities.”

    Dr Singh also said that he will ask his officials to be in direct touch with the ethnic media in US for a closer relationship to help boost the image of his state.