Nirmala Sitharaman (file photo)
US Trade Representative Mike Froman has congratulated Nirmala Sitharaman on her appointment as the new Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and discussed bilateral trade ties.
"This morning Ambassador Froman held a call with Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman to congratulate her on her appointment and to discuss the
US-India bilateral trade relationship," a US Trade Representative spokesperson said yesterday.
Mr Froman plans to attend the G20 Trade Ministers meeting in Sydney this July.
"On the margins of that gathering, he plans to meet Ms Sitharaman to review the status of our trade dialogue and share views on future engagement," the spokesperson said.
This was the first call between the two leaders after Ms Sitharaman was appointed as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.
Early this year, Mr Froman had told reporters that India and the US have a strong and growing trade and investment relationship. Both the countries remain committed to seeing that it achieves its full potential, he said.
"An important part of any maturing trade relationship is effectively addressing the range of issues on our trade and investment agenda, including in areas where we might disagree," he said.
Mr Froman and Ms Sitharaman have an immediate goal of coming out with policies that can increase the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion, a goal set by the two countries when in 2013 the then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met US President Barack Obama at the White House.