Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, has invited US investors to invest in the country’s highway and road infrastructure, especially insurance and pension funds.
He addressed the 17th Indo-US Economic Summit (organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, IACC), and said that he "sincerely hoped more and more US businesses will come and invest on the road and highway projects India, which are the gold mine of all stakeholders."
He promised better returns than those earned in the US for investors.
He spoke out about the government's efforts in increasing the production and adoption alternative transport fuels like ethanol, and emphasized the importance of last mile connectivity through multiple modes of transport. He also noted that American companies have the opportunity to invest in research-and-development of mobility technology in the United States.
Gadkari believed that India and the US would both play an important role in the post-Covid economic recovery.
Lalit Bhasin (Summit Chair) noted that while the pandemic presented many challenges on economic fronts but these challenges can also be opportunities that can encourage scaling up of the bilateral economic value chains.
"Pandemic taught us to reform our business models, go higher in the digital space and become more inclusive and global in our outlook," Rohit Kochhar, Regional Vice President of IACC, said. He described the current period for Indo-US relations as a "watershed point".
"I said this because our partnership isn't just about business and economics but also takes on great significance given recent geo-political developments. He said that there are many areas in which our interests and concerns are intertwined, and even complement each other.