The President:
Good afternoon, everyone.
Namaste.
Thank you all for an
extraordinarily warm welcome.
And before I get started, I
just want to acknowledge some
outstanding public servants,
some wonderful dignitaries who
are in the room.
Anand Sharma, our Commerce and
Industry Minister here in India.
(applause)
Khurshid Salman, the
Minister of Corporate Affairs
and Minority
Affairs, who's here.
(applause)
Dr. Montek Singh
Ahluwalia, State Planning
Commission Deputy Chairman.
(applause)
Gary Locke, who is
the Secretary of Commerce for
the United States.
(applause)
Terry McGraw, the chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council.
(applause)
Hari Bhartia, the
president of the Confederation
of Indian Industries.
(applause)
And Rajan Bharti
Mittal, president of the
Federation of Indian Chambers
of Commerce and Industry.
(applause)
On behalf of my wife
Michelle and myself, thank you
to the people of Mumbai and the
people India for the incredible
hospitality you have already
shown just in the few hours
since I've arrived in
this magnificent country.
We are especially honored to be
here as you celebrate Diwali.
(applause)
Some of you may know this.
Last year, I was honored to
become the first American
President to help celebrate the
Festival of Lights in the White House.
(applause)
And I know that
today, families are lighting
their Diyas and giving thanks
for their blessings and looking
ahead to the new year.
So to all of you who are
observing this sacred holiday
here and around the world, Happy
Diwali and a Saal Mubarak.
(applause)
I want to thank all
the organizations that have
brought us together today, as
well as the business leaders,
the CEOs, the government
officials who have joined us
here in Mumbai.
I just had some incredibly
productive discussions with
American business leaders and
Indian entrepreneurs, and today
I want to speak with you about
why we all benefit from the
strengthening ties
between our nations.
This is my first trip to India,
but this will be my longest
visit to another country
since becoming President.
(applause)
And that's because I
believe that the relationship
between the United States
and India will be one of the
defining and indispensable
partnerships of the 21st century.
Our nations are the two
largest democracies on Earth.
We are bound by a common
language and common values;
shared aspirations and a shared
belief that opportunity should
be limited only by how hard
you're willing to work, only by
how hard you are willing to try.
Trade and commerce between our
people has been happening for
centuries -- even before we
were independent nations.
Indian immigrants crossed oceans
to work on farms in the United
States, and later generations
came to practice medicine, and
do cutting-edge research,
and to start businesses.
American researchers, in turn,
partnered with Indian scientists
to launch the Green Revolution
that transformed life for
generations of Indians.
Americans have helped build
India, and India has helped to
build America.
Today, your country is one of
the fastest-growing economies in
the world.
And while there are many amazing
success stories and rapidly
expanding markets in Asia, the
sheer size and pace of India's
progress in just two decades
is one of the most stunning
achievements in human history.
(applause)
This is a fact.
Since your reform of the
licensing raj and embrace of the
global economy, India has lifted
tens of millions of people from
poverty and created one of the
largest middle classes on the planet.
You are now a nation of rapid
growth and rising incomes and
massive investments in
infrastructure and energy and education.
In the coming decades, you will
be the world's most populous
nation, with the largest
workforce and one of the largest
economies in the world.
Now, undoubtedly, that means
that the United States and India
will engage in a healthy
competition for markets and jobs
and industries of the future.
But it also offers the prospect
of expanded commercial ties that
strongly benefit both countries.
The United States sees Asia --
and especially India -- as a
market of the future.
We don't simply welcome your
rise -- as a nation,
and a people -- we
ardently support it.
We want to invest in it.
And I'm here because I believe
that in our interconnected
world, increased commerce
between the United States and
India can be and will be a
win-win proposition for both nations.
(applause)
I realize that for
some, this truth may not be
readily apparent.
I want to be honest.
There are many Americans whose
only experience with trade and
globalization has been a
shuttered factory or a job that
was shipped overseas.
And there still exists a
caricature of India as a land of
call centers and back offices
that cost American jobs.
That's a real perception.
Here in India, I know that
many still see the arrival of
American companies and products
as a threat to small shopkeepers
and to India's ancient
and proud culture.
But these old stereotypes, these
old concerns ignore today's
reality: In 2010, trade between
our countries is not just a
one-way street of American jobs
and companies moving to India.
It is a dynamic, two-way
relationship that is creating
jobs, growth, and higher living
standards in both our countries.
And that is the truth.
(applause)
As we look to India
today, the United States sees an
opportunity to sell our exports
in one of the fastest-growing
markets in the world.
For America, this
is a jobs strategy.
As we recover from this
recession, we are determined to
rebuild our economy on a new,
stronger foundation for growth.
And part of that foundation
involves doing what America has
always been known for:
discovering and creating and
building the products that
are sold all over the world.
That's why I've set a goal of
doubling America's exports over
the next five years -- because
for every $1 billion in exports,
thousands of jobs are
supported at home.
And already, our exports to
India have quadrupled in recent
years -- growing much faster
than our exports to many other countries.
The goods we sell in this
country currently support tens
of thousands of manufacturing
jobs across the United States --
from California and Washington
to Pennsylvania and Florida.
And that doesn't even include
all the American jobs supported
by our other exports to India --
from agriculture to travel to
educational services.
As we speak, American-made
machinery is helping India
improve its infrastructure,
including the new airport here
in Mumbai where I
landed this morning.
This year, there was a new
sight on India's highways --
American-made
Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
(laughter)
A growing number
of American-made aircraft are
taking flight in your skies.
And soon, there will be more.
That's because today, just
moments before I arrived here,
several landmark deals were
sealed between the United States and India.
Boeing, one of America's largest
companies, is on track to sell
India dozens of commercial
and cargo aircraft.
General Electric, another
American company, will sell more
than a hundred
advanced jet engines.
And I'm pleased that two U.S. firms are finalists for
a major locomotive tender.
Now, these are just a few of
the more than 20 deals being
announced today, totaling
nearly $10 billion in U.S. exports.
(applause)
From medical
equipment and helicopters to
turbines and mining equipment,
American companies stand ready
to support India's growing
economy, the needs of your
people, and your ability
to defend this nation.
And today's deals will lead to
more than 50,000 jobs in the
United States -- 50,000 jobs.
(applause)
Everything from high-tech jobs in Southern California
to manufacturing jobs in Ohio.
Now, these are major deals that
are significant for both our nations.
But our trade relationship is
not just about what America
sells India.
It's also about Indian
investment in America is doing.
Indian investment in America is
among the fastest growing of any country.
In recent years, Indian
companies have invested billions
of dollars in the United States
-- in American machinery,
manufacturing, mining,
research, technology.
Today, these investments support
tens of thousands of American jobs.
And at the same time, hundreds
of American companies --
including many small businesses
-- are investing in India; not
just in telecommunications, but
in industries from clean energy
to agriculture.
This means more choices for
Indian consumers and more jobs
for Indians and Americans.
Our relationship is also about
more than the goods that we sell
or the investments we make
-- it's about the innovative
partnerships we forge
in the name of progress.
Before I came here, I had
a fascinating meeting.
I met with business leaders from
both our countries, including
some incredibly young
Indian entrepreneurs.
And what's fascinating is the
way that they are now partnering
to take technology that has had
one application and use in the
United States and found entirely
new uses and new businesses
models here, in India.
They're working together to make
cell towers across India that
can run on solar,
and not diesel.
They're putting American
technology into Indian electric cars.
They're trying to bring new
filtration systems and clean
drinking water to rural India;
and they're trying to develop
better drugs for
diseases like malaria.
These are examples of American
companies doing well and
Indian companies doing well.
And these partnerships remind
us that by pursuing trade and
commerce, we are unleashing the
most powerful force the world
has ever known for eradicating
poverty and creating opportunity
-- and that's broad-based
economic growth.
Now, despite all this progress,
the economic relationship
between the United States and
India is still one of enormous
untapped potential.
Of all the goods that India
imports, less than 10 percent
come from the United States.
Of all the goods that America
exports to the world, less than
2 percent go to India.
Our entire trade with your
country is still less than our
trade with the Netherlands --
this is a country with a smaller
population than
the city of Mumbai.
As a result, India is only our
12th largest trade partner.
I have no doubt that we can do
better than that -- we can do
much better.
There's no reason this nation
can't be one of our top trading partners.
And that's why we want to work
together with you to remove the
barriers to increased trade and
investment between our nations.
In the United States, we're
committed to doing our part.
With India and our other G20
partners, we've resisted the
protectionism that would have
plunged the global economy even
deeper into recession.
Today, our country remains one
of the most open economies in the world.
And while I make no apologies
about doing whatever it takes to
encourage job creation and
business investment in America,
I still work to make sure our
efforts don't unfairly target
companies and workers from
this nation or any nation.
And to further increase our
exports to places like India,
we're marshalling the full
resources of the United States
government to help our companies
sell their goods and services in
other markets.
We're increasing export
financing for small and
medium-sized businesses.
We're being a better
advocate for our businesses.
We're increasing
our trade missions.
In fact, my Secretary of
Commerce, Gary Locke, will be
leading another trade mission to
India in the next few months.
And we're reforming our export
control system, so that even as
we strengthen our national
security, we make sure that
unnecessary barriers don't stand
in the way of high-tech trade
between our countries.
Today, I'm pleased to announce
that we will work with India to
fundamentally reform our
controls on exports, which will
allow greater cooperation in a
range of high-tech sectors and
strengthen our
nonproliferation efforts.
(applause)
So we're taking the necessary steps to strengthen this relationship.
India can also do its part.
Over the past two decades, it
has become much easier for
companies to do business
and invest here in India.
It was striking talking to some
of the American CEOs who are
here who've come frequently over
decades and seen the incredible
progress that's been made.
But I don't think it's any
secret that infrastructure,
regulatory barriers and other
issues of uncertainty still pose
some serious challenges.
Today, India is making
major investments in its
infrastructure and creating
greater transparency to support
growth and entrepreneurship.
Going forward, that commitment
must be matched by a steady
reduction in barriers to trade
and foreign investment -- from
agriculture to infrastructure,
from retail to telecommunications.
Because in a global economy,
new growth and jobs flow to
countries that lower barriers
to trade and investment.
These are steps we can take
together to strengthen the
economic ties between our
nations -- ties that hold
incredible promise for our
people and our future -- the
promise of new jobs, new
industries and new growth.
Whether or not that promise is
fulfilled depends on us -- on
the decisions we make and the
partnership we build in the
coming years.
We must admit it won't always
be an easy road, but as I stand
here today, I can tell you that
I'm absolutely confident we will
meet this challenge because --
(applause)
-- because in our two nations, I see the fundamental ingredients
to success in the 21st century.
I'm confident because we both
cherish the entrepreneurial
spirit that empowers innovation
and risk-taking, and allows them
to turn a good idea into a new
product or company that changes the world.
And we have examples of Indian
entrepreneurs and American
entrepreneurs sitting right here
who've already begun to do that.
And I'm confident because
we both know that for those
businesses to thrive, our
nations need to invest in
science and technology, in
research and development, and an
infrastructure for
the 21st century.
I'm confident because we both
recognize that knowledge is the
currency of the future, and that
we must give our children the
skills and education that
success requires in a global economy.
(applause)
And I'm confident
because our countries are
blessed with the most effective
form of
government the world has ever known: democracy.
(applause)
Even if it can be slow at times.
Even if it can be messy.
Even if, sometimes, the election
doesn't turn out as you'd like.
(laughter and applause)
For we know that when governments are accountable
to their people, their people are more likely to prosper;
and that, over the long run, democracy and economic growth,
freedom in the political
sphere and freedom in the
economic sphere go hand in hand.
We believe that.
(applause)
What gives me the
most confidence about our future
is our greatest resource --
the drive and ingenuity of our
people: workers and
entrepreneurs- students and
innovators; Indians and
Americans, including the nearly
3 million Indian Americans who
bind our nations together.
(applause)
For despite all the sweeping changes of the last few decades
-- from the reform
of the licensing raj to the
technological revolutions that
continue to shape our global
economy -- it has been people
who have driven our progress.
It is individual men and women
like you who put their shoulder
to the wheel of
history and push.
An American scientist who
discovers an agricultural breakthrough.
An Indian engineer who builds
the next-generation electric car.
A small business owner in
Detroit who sells his product to
a new company in New Delhi.
And all the Mumbaikars who get
up every day in this City of
Dreams to forge a better life
for their children -- from the
boardrooms of world-class Indian
companies to the shops in the
winding alleys of Dharavai.
This is the spirit of optimism
and determination that has
driven our people since before
we were nations -- the same
spirit that will
drive our future.
And that's why I'm thrilled to
be in India and with you here today.
And that's why I'm confident
that we can and will forge
new economic partnerships and
deliver the jobs and broad-based
growth that our peoples
so richly deserve.
And I am absolutely certain that
the relationship between the
United States and India is
going to be one of the defining
partnerships of
the 21st century.
Thank you very much, everybody.
Thank you.