Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer while addressing AMCHAM Annual General Meeting at New Delhi said:
We have had many big events this year and it seemed that Amcham was involved in most of them. From Aero India in Bangalore to our National Day reception to President Obama’s visit, Amcham has been a great supporter of our Mission’s efforts and in the U.S. – India strategic partnership.
Much of this would not have happened had it not been for the leadership and guidance of Dinesh Keskar. I want to thank him and congratulate him for his outstanding tenure as the Amcham Chairman.
I want to thank everyone for their flexibility in changing today’s schedule so I could be here today.
It is very fitting to be here with Amcham members today. Two years ago, when I first arrived in New Delhi, one of my first public events was meeting with Amcham and many of you here today.
So I am glad that my first public event since yesterday’s announcement of my upcoming departure as the U.S. Ambassador to India is with all of you.
Before the rumors begin to fly, let me say, unequivocally, I am not departing to run for President!
When I accepted the position, I told President Obama that I would agree to stay for two years but after that, my commitment to my family would take precedence.
I have two boys who will be entering college in the next 15 months and I have parents and in-laws who want to see more of us and we want to see more of them. I know that many of you in international business face the same decisions and challenges. I have great respect for the sacrifice and dedication you bring to building this relationship.
My family and I have had such a great time here with wonderful friendships, fantastic travel, and terrific experiences. Yet, as most of you are aware, your family gives up certain things and makes great sacrifices when you live outside of America. So after two years, for our family, it is time to go home.
This has been an extraordinarily successful and rewarding two years; ones that saw incredible accomplishments and improvements in the U.S. – India strategic relationship.
Our two countries are collaborating and partnering in almost every field of human endeavor, from defense to health, from education to trade, from energy to agriculture. In all these areas we have had notable successes.
On security, defense, and intelligence, our cooperation has taken off since the signing of the Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative, which I signed in July 2010.
Momentum in this area really took off when we gave the Government of India access to David Headley. Our intelligence sharing has continued, providing benefits to both countries, so that when there are major sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games or the Cricket World Cup, the focus and headlines remain on the achievements of the athletes.
Just a few weeks ago, almost 40 police officers from 14 central and 15 state agencies across India participated in Los Angeles in a Law Enforcement Executive Development seminar focusing on counterterrorism, crisis response, and megacity policing.
Such exchanges were probably not possible just two or three years ago but are now occurring on a much more frequent basis. We all benefit when our law enforcement officials work together in this way.
On defense, one simply has to look at the growth in defense sales to see how close our two armed forces are becoming. We now have regular exercises across all services that are increasing in size and complexity as our militaries become more familiar with each other.
I had the pleasure of attending the arrival ceremony of the first of six C130-J planes that were delivered to India this past February. Several more have since been delivered.
These sales demonstrate all the best of American manufacturing, technology, and workmanship as they have been delivered on time and under budget.
We are expecting similar success with the sale of C17 aircraft. Once this over four billion dollar sale is finalized, the economic impact will be felt by 30,000 American workers and 650 American suppliers located in 44 states.
But do not take my word for it. Let me quote Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft, who said. “Our hands are pretty full. There’s lots going on.” I think the same sentiment can be said by almost all of our defense contractors when it comes to business in India.
These sales strengthen the strategic partnership between our two countries, and demonstrate our enduring commitment to sharing the world’s best technology with India.
The sales broaden India’s strategic and humanitarian response capabilities and strengthen India’s role as a force for good in Asia.
There have been almost too many achievements on the political front for me to name but most of these were unthinkable just a few years ago.
After my nomination, I spent many hours preparing for my confirmation hearing, meeting with U.S. government officials from all agencies and Indian experts. Almost all thought support for India’s permanent seat on a reformed U.N. Security Council was not possible.
Eighteen months later, during President Obama’s historic visit here and in his speech to Parliament, he made clear he looked forward to India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It was a recognition that India has arrived on the global stage and is ready to play a constructive role in meeting global challenges.
President Obama’s visit opened the door for a truly global partnership. We have reformed our export control regime and removed key Indian defense and civil space entities from U.S. restricted lists, which will boost high technology exports and allow for enhanced defense and space cooperation.
With India, we are cooperating to promote open government and free elections in third countries, a historic move forward from India’s prior stance.
We are working with India in third countries, such as Afghanistan, where India and the United States share the same goals and have the same vision.
We are also working with India in several African countries, to leverage our shared experiences and expertise to those countries to promote agricultural productivity and improve food security.
On the trade and economic front, we have had similar successes.
Our exports to India were up 17 percent in 2010 and we are on our way to achieving the President’s National Export Initiative goal of doubling exports in five years.
In the last two budgets, the Indian government has reduced tariffs on a number of U.S. priority goods, including certain agricultural products, aircraft and aircraft parts, clean energy machinery, and medical equipment.
During President Obama’s visit, we announced 20 deals totaling nearly $10 billion dollars in U.S. exports that will lead to more than 50 thousand jobs in America.
Last December, I was in Chennai, where I had the opportunity to meet several U.S. companies. I met with Histogenetix, based in New York, that does biodata analysis in Chennai. On the face of it, it appears to be your classic outsourcing story. But in part due to the success of the Chennai office, the New York office has added 300 jobs since it opened in India four years ago.
Just last week I visited a gasoline refinery in Assam. With American manufactured equipment, it was able to increase capacity by 50 percent and it is looking to buy more American equipment. With this increased capacity, it can supply fuel efficiently to the Northeast and is even hoping to export to Bangladesh.
These are examples of the win-win proposition for both nations that President Obama spoke of in Mumbai. Today, we can even weave through the Delhi traffic riding a Harley. What more of a win-win can you ask than that?!!
Our relationship with India is not perfect; no relationship is. We can tighten our intel sharing capabilities; we continue to urge India to further open its markets, liberalize its FDI regime, and to improve the transparency and predictability of doing business throughout India.
Yet, the future for the U.S. – India strategic partnership has never been brighter.
Going forward, I see three important global trends that will set the tone and pace of the U.S. – India global partnership.
The first is geo-political, with the emphasis shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The two fastest growing major economies are China and India. China is the second largest economy in the world and in the not too distant future, India will be the third.