Media Alert: U.S. Council on Competitiveness Forges Partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry

Left to Right: Deborah Wince-Smith, President & CEO of the Council on Competitiveness; Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Group, President of FICCI;  Her Excellency Meera Shankar, Ambassador of India to the United States; Amit Mitra, Secretary General of FICCI

Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Amit Mitra, joined President and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness, Deborah Wince-Smith earlier today in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  

Also present at the signing was
•    Her Excellency Meera Shankar, Ambassador of India to the United States
•    Geoff Pyatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central and South Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
•    Holly Vineyard, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, U.S. Department of Commerce
•    Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Group, President of FICCI
•    Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary general, FICCI
•    Walter Doran, President of Raytheon Asia
•    Peggy Johnson, EVP of the America’s and India, Qualcomm Inc.
•    Pradeep Khosla, Council on Competitiveness Executive Committee Member; Dean, School of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
•    Jared Cohon, member of the Council on Competitiveness Technology Leadership and Strategy Initiative

The event marked the beginning of a partnership between FICCI and the Council, intended to boost the strategic relationship between India and the United States by bringing together members of the public and private sectors to enhance the innovation-capacity and competitiveness of both countries.

The agreement recognized “the mutual interest and benefits in strengthening cooperation within a framework of friendship,” as well as a commitment to “promote cooperation in the fields of innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness.”

Through this MOU, FICCI and the Council will work together to accomplish projects which recognize their shared interests including the development of innovative human capital and sustainable development.

Read the Economic Times' coverage of the Council's partnership with FICCI.