By IANS
New Delhi : India should strengthen bilateral trade ties with the US, especially in the small and medium business (SME) segment, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said Wednesday.
The two countries will discuss this at the India-US SME Event to be held in Chicago Feb next year.
This was initiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who, during his visit to US in July 2005, urged both countries to enhance the trade and business between the two countries and announced the establishment of the India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF).
Later, a private sector advisory group was established at the ministerial level to provide recommendations and policy insights by assisting the TPF in discussions and infuse new ideas to promote bilateral trade and investment.
Both these bodies are instrumental in boosting trade between the two countries.
During 2006-07, the bilateral trade between India and the US stood at $31.5 billion.
Some of the major items that India exports to the US are gems and jewellery, cotton, accessories, machinery and instruments, while its imports from the US include transport equipment, electronic goods and machineries, Kamal Nath said.