India's Modi to address FedEx, Mastercard, other US CEOs at Kennedy Center -source

Mastek

16/06/2023 11:00

By Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt
       WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will meet the CEOs of top American companies
including FedEx  FDX.N , MasterCard  MA.N   and Adobe  ADBE.O 
during his trip to the United States for an official state
visit, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
    The CEO reception with more than 1,200 participants,
including business leaders from U.S. and Indian companies such
as Tech Mahindra  TEML.NS  and Mastek  MAST.NS , will be held on
June 23 at Washington's John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts, the source added.
    It will follow the official state dinner on June 22 at the
White House with President Joe Biden - a celebration billed as a
milestone in relations between the two democracies.
    Biden has been eager to strengthen ties with India as part
of his bid to win what he has framed as a contest between free
and autocratic societies, especially China.
    Modi is not likely to directly address the threat from China
in public remarks, a second source said, but he is expected to
raise the issue during private discussions.
    Decreasing India's dependence on Russia for its defense
needs and increasing its own manufacturing capabilities will be
among the top themes discussed between the two countries, the
second source said. 
    The Biden administration is pushing New Delhi to cut through
its own red tape and advance a deal for dozens of U.S.-made
armed drones, sources told Reuters.
    New Delhi has frustrated Washington by participating in
military exercises with Russia and increasing purchases of the
country's crude oil, a key source of funding for the war in
Ukraine. Washington has been encouraging New Delhi to do more to
punish Russia for the Ukraine invasion.
    U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who recently
visited India to make final preparations ahead of Modi's visit,
said the United States is set to remove obstacles that prevent
smoother trade with India in critical areas such as defense and
high technology. 
    The U.S. became India's largest trading partner in fiscal
year 2022-23 as bilateral trade rose by almost 8% to $128.55
billion, according to data from India's Ministry of Commerce.
The rise is in contrast to the 1.5% fall in India-China trade to
$113.83 billion in the same fiscal year.
    Other key issues to be discussed, according to the second
source, are how to spur chip manufacturing in India and lower 
its dependence on China for electronics. The countries will also
discuss artificial intelligence, quantum computing and
cybersecurity along with work visas for Indian workers.  
    Biden is expected to make his own trip to New Delhi in
September for the G20 meetings hosted by India.

 (Reporting by Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington
Additional reporting by Mike Stone  Editing by Heather Timmons
and Matthew Lewis)
 ((nandita.bose@thomsonreuters.com; +12023545868; Reuters
Messaging: nandita.bose.reuters.com@reuters.net))