India-US collaboration in shipping and logistics on an upswing

Chennai, February 20th, 2012: Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Tamil Nadu today successfully hosted a first of its kind B2B meet on US India Business Growth opportunities Under Secretary in of Shipping Commerce and for Logistics. Francisco Sanchez,

International Trade, U.S Department of Commerce presided over the event as the Chief Guest and Jennifer McIntyre, U.S Consul General, Judy Reinke, Counselor for commercial affairs U.S Embassy, Delhi as the Guests of Honor. The dignitaries were joined by executives from 20 leading shipping and logistics companies who met up with and discussed with Indian companies in the sector, possibilities for collaboration and potential avenues for investment. In 2011 bilateral goods between India and the United states was nearly $ 58 billion dollars million tones.. India's shipping sector continues to expand at a frenetic pace, with a combination of increasing consumer demand and overseas trade volumes boosting shipping volumes to and from the country's ports. The countrys impressive economic growth is fuelling the rapid development of the country's container ports in particular, as income levels and demand for consumer goods expands In his remarks, Francisco Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S Department of Commerce, said, India is emerged as economic leader. Its 1.3 billion people are among the most creative and

innovative in the world. And our two countries share similar goals, expanded opportunity , greater prosperity and thriving economies. In 2011 bilateral trades in goods between India and US was nearly 58 billion $. India will grow faster than any other country in the world in the next 20-25 years, but with the excitement causes the challenges. So does its infrastructure need to develop. The current infrastructure network isnt strong enough to support Indias emergence. Indias businesses cannot be competitive in this environment. Investments are clearly needed thats why I was glad to see the announcement last year by the government of India, $ 66 billion for the port sector and $ 27 billion for shipping sector. This will reportedly increase Indias port capacity from 1 billion tones to 3.2 billion tones by 2020. India is quickly becoming a home for the worlds capital for talent , innovation. It is a remarkably story of progress. According to Jennifer McIntyre, U.S Consul General, We are delighted to host the first of this trade mission . Indias economic growth is well known, along with that growth rate comes the side effect of severe infrastructure capacity constraints, this is especially true in the ports and logistics sector. Here in south India you will find a large and successful manufacturing base that is pushing some of Indias largest ports located here in the south, beyond their capacity. I know you will also find willing partners here that are more than willing to engage with U.S companies and U.S ports to find mutually beneficial commercial solutions to addresses the capacity issues face here. Raman Govindarajan, Chairman, IACC Tamil Nadu said It is indeed our pleasure to host this First B2B delegation meet under the leadership of Mr. Sanchez in Chennai. We are expecting this will result into more partnerships, deals and alliances and it is an opportunity for Indian Companies to meet 12 delegates from leading shipping and logistics industry. In the past three months IACC hosted around 8 successful events

and hosting many dignatories from Washington including US Exim Bank Chairman, and is also held popular events in Coimbatore, Madurai etc. The US companies that were a part of the delegation includes Aecom, The Beckett Group, Container Trac, Rapiscan Systems Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., DSC Dredge, Ellicot Dredges, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, Port of Baltimore, Port of San Diego among others. About IACC: Established in 1968, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) is a non-government, industry led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in Indias development process and serves as a much needed link between the business communities of India and the United States of America. IACC is the only bilateral Chamber of Commerce in India, which is committed to development of Indo-US business and trade relations. The major objective of IACC is to promote Indo-American business, trade and economic relations. IACC promotes bilateral trade, investment and technology transfer, facilitates business collaborations, joint ventures, marketing tie-ups and strategic alliances through a set of proactive business-oriented initiatives.. IACC has over 2,600 members who together represent a wide spectrum of business and economic segments: manufacturing, exports, services et al. IACC member companies are involved in a cross-section of business domains such as manufacturing, engineering, construction, consumer goods, electronics, IT, pharmaceuticals, consulting, travel and tourism, etc.
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