San Francisco: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday (local time) who is on a visit to the United States met with US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in San Francisco.

The two leaders held talks on the IPEF and trade pillars. The bilateral meeting between Piyush Goyal and Katherine Tai lasted for almost 30 minutes.

In May 2022, the United States launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

India joined the IPEF and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the launch event along with US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and other leaders from partner countries.

The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic engagement among partner nations with the goal of advancing growth, peace and prosperity in the region, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to Trade (Pillar I); Supply Chains (Pillar II); Clean Economy (Pillar III); and Fair Economy (Pillar IV).

Goyal, who is on a visit to the United States from November 13 to 16, arrived in San Francisco Monday morning to attend the IPEF ministerial meeting. During his visit, he will also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco.

Goyal is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and representatives from various sectors and industries, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. These meetings will focus on addressing trade barriers, promoting investments, and fostering greater cooperation in areas such as technology and innovation.

One of the key focus of the visit will be the joint event, co-chaired with US Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo on "India-USA Innovation Handshake Initiative", with the aim to lift up and connect the two sides' dynamic startup ecosystems, address specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation, and promote further innovation and job growth, particularly in emerging technologies."

India and US are natural partners and have trade complementarities, long-standing strategic and economic relationship, people to people contact, and both are vibrant democracies too.

The two nations are also collaborating under other frameworks such as QUAD and I2U2 (India-Israel/ UAE-US). Regular exchanges at the leadership level have been an integral element of the expanding bilateral engagement.

Piyush Goyal's visit showcases the determination to forge strong and mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships that will not only benefit the economies of both India and the US but also contribute to the overall prosperity and welfare of their respective citizens.

Goyal will also participate in the investors' roundtable along with one-to-one meetings with CEOs. He will also interact with various stakeholders such as students, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and the Indian diaspora.

He is expected to interact with globally renowned technology, entrepreneurship, and academic communities in the Bay Area, particularly, in Silicon Valley to undertake focused discussions with American companies looking to invest or expand in India across sectors - Electronics (including semiconductors), Technology, FinTech etc.

Just shortly upon arrival in the US, Goyal met with Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong. The two leaders discussed ways to accelerate cooperation across sectors to further deepen economic partnership between India and Singapore.

Taking to X, Goyal stated, "Met H.E. Gan Kim Yong, Minister of Trade & Industry, Singapore, and discussed ways to accelerate cooperation across sectors to further deepen our economic partnership."