Hyderabad, June 29, 2021. The Indo American Chamber of Commerce(IACC), the principal bilateral chamber committed to the promotion of industrial, economic, business and commercial activities between the united states of America and India” celebrated 245th US Independence Day Celebrations virtually on Zoom Platform on Tuesday. Though US Independence Day falls on 4th July, IACC celebrates in a couple of days in advance.
IACC is an apex bilateral chamber formed in the year 1968 to focus on improving Indo – US bilateral trade exchanges and deliberate upon relevant areas of trade policy & investments With 53 years of existence, it has networked extensively with both the Governments including Corporates to boost trade and create entrepreneurial opportunities through B2B linkages, trade delegation and focused seminars and conferences. Pan India we have close to 1800 members with 10 offices.
Mr. Joel Reifman, Consul General, the US Consulate General, Hyderabad and Dr. Vijay Chauthaiwale, In-Charge, Foreign Affairs Department, Bharatiya Janata Party were Chief Guests at the celebrations and spoke on the occasion.
Mr. Joel Reifman, Consul General said Independence Day is a reminder to those living in democratic nations like India and the USA to celebrate a strong partnership between two nations. The USA stood with India as we fought together with the pandemic just as India stood with the USA.
The Consul General said the USA and India cooperate on many fronts such as Defence, Regional cooperation particularly in Indo Pacific; Terrorism, Peace Keeping, Climate Change, Science & Technology,, Agriculture, Space, Trade and Foreign Education.
Our people to people ties in both nations are very strong. Nearly 4 million Indian Americans call America their home. They contribute to the nation on many fronts. NASA’s space mission Commander has Telangana roots. One example is Raja Chari, a man with Telugu roots, who is gearing up for the SpaceX Crew-3 Mission to ISS scheduled in October this year. His father Sreenivas V Chari hailed from Hyderabad and studied at Osmania University.
Covid 19 has disrupted global trade and supply chain. It has also thrown open for many collaborations in several critical sectors. Telangana has played a very significant role in the Indian Health Care sector by giving the nation the first indigenously developed vaccine by Bharath Biotech which again is done in collaboration with American Universities and Hospitals. Hyderabad has emerged as the destination of choice for life sciences, pharma sectors, science and technology, IT, business-friendly policies, thanks to the commendable job of my friend KT Rama Rao and the State Government.
India US relationship is multidimensional. There is hardly any aspect of human endeavour where these two countries have not collaborated both on the positive side fighting against Climate Change, Terrorism and Pandemic. The partnership between our two nations is very strong. In 7 years of Modi’s Prime Ministership, there were three changes in US Leadership—Obama, Trump and now Biden, the new President. Our friendship and partnership even during such changes in leadership was intact and has grown very strong on both bilateral and global issues. Both nations share common democratic values, said Dr. Vijay Chauthaiwale, In-Charge, Foreign Affairs Department, Bharatiya Janata Party.
Both the nations have forged a partnership in Defence in 2016 which has gone to a new level. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue(QUAD), the new forum floated recently, added a new dimension to the partnership which not only ensures free movement in the South China Sea but also offers freedom of navigation and addresses other strategic interests, Dr. Vijay said.
Purnachandra Rao Surapaneni, National President of IACC said India and America are true friends in every way. Trade has played a significant role in forging a strong partnership between the two countries since the beginning. Celebrating 245th America’s Independence seems to be special in every way. America’s independence has come a long way where “tangibility and transitionality” have got a huge role in making it one of the largest economies. The Independence Day celebration is always clubbed with family unions, parties, recreation activities and social gatherings. I think it goes very well with the Declaration of Independence focusing upon Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. All these values are very common to Indian people and they form the foundation of our relationship, Mr. Rao added.
The Biden Administration policies, Mr Rao added have proven to be pro-industrial and pledge to improve the economic relations by lifting a ban on the H-1B visas and eliminating the per-country quota for the green card. IACC will continue promoting the national theme on a Pan India basis “Achieving USD 500 billion trade between the two nations” which was originally coined by both the Governments and during the tenure of Vice Presidency by Mr. Joe Biden, the National President of IACC reiterated its commitment.
India and the USA have a long-standing bilateral partnership. In the last few years, both nations have taken significant steps to enhance their political and economic ties. This “global strategic partnership”, is based on shared democratic values and increasing convergence of interests on bilateral, regional and global issues. The trade and cultural cooperation between both countries is rich, manifested in diverse ways and based on a foundation of the common values that our societies cherish, said Mr. Vijaya Sai Meka, Chairman of IACC AP & TS while giving his welcome remarks.
On 26th April the US President tweeted that “India was there for us, and we will be there for them. India and The US have mutually helped each other on numerous occasions Mr Vijaya Sai Meka said and that all this mutual co-operation and support reflects that both countries and the public value their partnership and friendship.
Srikanth Badiga, the past Chairman of the Chapter was felicitated for his outstanding contribution as a President of the Chapter for the record term of three years. The speakers who spoke recalled his service and contributions for which Mr. Badiga responded and solicited unstinted support as usual from the US Consular General in future too.
Mr. Ramkumar Vice Chairman, IACC AP&TS, Mr. Narayana Rao C, Vice Chairman AP&TS, Branch Committee members and members of AP&TS Chapter.
