New York:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended the day with a dinner with more than 40 executives of Fortune 500 companies at New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel, where he is staying. After his interaction the PM tweeted -My interaction with Fortune 500 CEOs was on investment opportunities in India & why they must come & @makeinindia! (sic)-
Here are the latest developments:
"Reform in governance is my No. 1 priority. We are for simplified procedures, speedy decision making, transparency and accountability," PM Modi said. Listing the sectors opened up for investment, he invited the CEOs to Make in India.
Foreign Direct Investment has risen in India by 40%, when it has fallen everywhere else, he said. "This reflects confidence in the Indian economy," he added.
The event was coordinated by the Fortune magazine and the interactive session preceding the dinner moderated by its editor, Alan Murray.
The dinner was preceded by a series of one-on-one meetings between a group of top CEOs and PM Modi. Among them was Mike Bloomberg, business tycoon and former mayor of New York, Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard and the head of US-India Business Council and Marillyn Hewson, chairman of the aerospace and defence giant Lockheed Martin Corporation.
The Prime Minister also held a round table with the heads of the US media sector, where he said India was "committed" to protecting Intellectual Property Rights, "which is essential to fostering creativity".
The session focused on leveraging India's growth story through technology and communication. It was attended by the top executives of News Corp, 21st Century Fox, Sony, Discovery, Time Warner and others and was coordinated by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
The Prime Minister had started the day with a strong investment pitch to nine top American CEOs from the financial sector. Those who attended the discussion included Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan, Bill Ford of General Atlantic, Peter Hancock of AIG Insurance and Vicki Fuller, chief investment officer of New York State Common Retirement.
The Prime Minister, who arrived in New York early on Wednesday evening local time, will attend the United Nations General Assembly session in New York before he heads for the West Coast. He will also meet US President Barack Obama during his six-day US trip.
On Saturday, PM Modi will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in a special summit of what is known as the G-4 group - countries which back each other's bid for permanent seats at the UN Security Council.
From New York, the PM will travel to Silicon Valley where he will visit the Facebook headquarters in California for a Townhall with its CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the Google campus. On Sunday, he will interact with the Indian community at the SAP Centre in San Jose.
Post a comment