Indian Commerce Minster Piyush Goyal and tech mogul Elon Musk are expected to hold a meeting in US’ San Francisco on the sidelines of the third in-person Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) ministerial meeting to be held here on November 13-17, media reports said citing sources.
Reports said that talks between Goyal and Musk may feature discussions around Tesla’s investments in India and talks on manufacturing of more Tesla components here.
The potential meeting between Goyal and Musk comes at a crucial juncture as US and China tensions are at an all-time high. Numerous US-based firms are looking for other markets as they plan to pull out of China and amid this, India provides a viable alternative with its emerging markets and a growing economy.
It also comes months after a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Musk in New York City where the Tesla CEO revealed that he is mulling over another India visit “next year.”
Musk had said at the time that he and Tesla are coming to India and added, “I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible.”
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX also exuded confidence in the Indian market, saying “We’re hopefully looking forward to bringing Starlink to India as well. The Starlink Internet, which I think can be incredibly helpful for remote or rural villages in India.”
To give an impetus to India’s economic ties with the US and boost its investments, the minister would also be meeting with CEOs of multinational companies, the startups community, among others.
Engagements during APEC Summit
The Indian minister Goyal will also be holding engagements in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC Summit) in San Francisco, US.
Additionally, Goyal is anticipated to meet US officials, including US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai.
Watch | India-US defence ministers discuss China, Indo-Pacific
Launched in May 2022, IPEF is an economic initiative that has fourteen participating founding member nations in the Indo-Pacific region. During the ministerial meeting, the Commerce minister will also interact with ministers from other IPEF partner countries.
Goyal and Raimondo will further participate in the United States-India Business Council (USIBC). “We’re going to be talking in that meeting with a number of companies, USIBC members, but also with startups in the innovation space to talk about how to foster even more unicorn-like startups between the United States and India,” USIBC president Atul Keshap reportedly said.
(With inputs from agencies)