The Embassy of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) jointly organized \"India-US Partnership: Shared Effort-Progress for All,\" a luncheon discussion, on 26 February 2015 in Washington D.C. Bringing together key stakeholders on Capitol Hill, the session focused on the sea change in the U.S.-India relationship, particularly given President Obama\'s recent substantive visit to India, and the shared path forward between the two countries.

In his opening remarks, Congressman George Holding (R-NC), Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans lauded the tremendous progress made in advancing the US-India partnership and highlighted the important role that Indian companies are playing through their significant investment and creation of jobs in the U.S. - a lesser-known but equally critical side of the India-U.S. bilateral partnership.

Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA), Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, and the only Indian American in Congress, reflected on his recent trip to India with President Obama. Bera reiterated the strategic values and compatibility that India and the U.S. share, remarking that in the last eight months the conversation surrounding the relationship has grown to one of optimism and endless opportunities. â€œTo take advantage of the momentum and move forward especially in our economic partnership,â€ Bera said, â€œwe need to harness the energy and success of the Indian American community and recognize the increasing significance of investments by Indian companies in the U.S.â€

Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Charge d\'Affaires, Embassy of India, relayed the primary deliverables of President Obama\'s visit to India, commenting that the \"relations between India and the U.S. have never been as strong.\" Our long standing strategic relationship has been upgraded with Delhi Declaration of Friendship committing both nations to elevate the Strategic Dialogue to a Strategic and Commercial Dialogue to advance mutual prosperity. Reiterating Prime Minister Modi\'s commitment to be open for business and deepen ties with the U.S., Ambassador Sandhu discussed the positive developments between India and the U.S. in sectors such as defense, renewable energy and education. He also noted the significant contribution of Indian and US companies to advancing this relationship.

Mr. Vivek Sharma, Chairman, CII-India Business Forum and CEO, Piramal Healthcare Ltd, speaking on behalf of Indian industry, welcomed the change in tone and tenor of the India-U.S. relationship from just last year. Stating that President Obama\'s visit to India \"marks an inflection point in the US-India bilateral strategic relationship,\" Mr. Sharma underscored some of the challenges being faced by Indian companies in the United States, including the lapsing of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), market access barriers in the pharmaceutical and financial services sectors as well as issues related to the mobility of high skilled labor.

The session was the first interaction organized under the aegis of the House India Caucus and helped highlight the vast progress that has been made as well as the momentous scope for even greater cooperation between India and the U.S.

\\\'Shared Progress - Effort for all: Embassy of India-CII event on Capitol Hill