"US, India onto something great," says American diplomat Atul Keshap ahead of APEC summit

Washington, DC [US], November 10 : Ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic leaders meeting, American diplomat Atul Keshap said the United States and India are onto something really great, and he sees India as a wonderful startup ecosystem.
Keshap further said that the United States-India Business Council (USIBC) is privileged to be hosting Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in San Francisco on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic leaders meeting.
"We are privileged to be hosting Minister Piyush Goyal and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in San Francisco on the margins of the APEC economic leaders meeting," Keshap said.
Keshap currently serves at the US Chamber of Commerce as President of the United States India Business Council.
He said: "We're going to be talking in that meeting with a number of companies, USIBC members, but also with startups in the innovation space to talk about how to foster even more unicorn-like startups between the United States and India."
He further said the US, India, Israel, other open societies, free societies are market leaders in startups. "They have the academic, innovation, and investment ecosystems to fuel the rise of new ideas. And we have the human talent to help tap into that. And so the US and India are onto something really great. India has a wonderful startup ecosystem. We want to accelerate that. It's good for both of our countries, and so it'll be a great event, and we're looking forward to hosting both of the ministers," he said.
Keshap said APEC is an important organisation. "It represents about 55 per cent of global GDP. And so the organization talks about the rules of the road for trade all around the world, and particularly for APEC countries."
"So for the United States to invite India to this APEC summit in San Francisco, to me is a really big deal. India is not a member of APEC, although it asked to become a member back in 1991 when APEC was formed. And I think this administration is actually putting a lot of effort into trying to reach out to India to include it in our trade efforts around the world. Look at the Indopacific economic framework," he said.
Meanwhile, President and Chief Executive Officer of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Mukesh Aghi, while speaking on Union Minister Piyush Goyal's visit to the US, said: "Well, this is on the sidelines of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and APAC. The event is all about bringing in US technology companies, from AI to chipmaking to cybersecurity, and exploring how we can collaborate, how we can get some of these companies to come and invest in India. We're also looking at Indian startups to see how we can bring them to the US. So it's a two way trade, it's a two way transfer of technology. So that's the whole objective of the event taking place with Minister Goyal."
He said the change of topic from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific sends a very strong message. "But more important is India's integration into the Asia Pacific, its economy, its technology, its leadership. So while Prime Minister Modi is not going to be there, the focus is going to be bilateral between China and the United States. But India presence will be felt, led by Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal, he said.
Piyush Goyal is scheduled to participate in the meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) on November 13-14 at San Francisco.
In May 2022, the United States launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
This framework will advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for our economies. Through this initiative, the IPEF partners aim to contribute to cooperation, stability, prosperity, development, and peace within the region. This framework will offer tangible benefits that fuel economic activity and investment, promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and benefit workers and consumers across the region. The 14 IPEF partners represent 40 percent of global GDP and 28 percent of global goods and services trade.