The relationship between India and the US is not just “addictive”, it is “multiplicative”, US envoy to India Eric Garcetti has said. Garcetti also said that the relationship between the two countries has never been so good.

He made these remarks on Monday at an event on the sidelines of the SelectUSA Investment Summit, to which the largest delegation is from India. “This (India US) is a relationship that isn’t just additive. It’s not just the US plus India. It’s multiplicative. It’s the United States times India,” Garcetti said on the sidelines of the summit, to which the largest delegation is from India.

The SelectUSA Investment Summit is the highest-profile event in the US to facilitate business investment by connecting thousands of investors, companies, economic development organisations (EDOs), and industry experts to make deals happen. Garcetti was speaking at the event wherein India’s JSW Steel announced its plans to invest USD 140 million in Bayton, Texas.

“Now, Americans are getting more and more familiar with Indian brands and Indian companies… Together we’re investing in third countries, infrastructure, energy, climate solutions, empowering tomorrow’s prosperity,” Garcetti said as he announced investment from JW Steel in Texas.

“We are so excited that JSW Steel is announcing a USD 140 million investment in America, in Baytown, in Texas. JSW is one of the largest Indian investors in the United States, investing more than USD 2 billion here in this country, in Texas and in Ohio. They have seen tremendous return on their investment,” he said. This FDI would result in jobs for more than 800 American workers.

Garcetti also said that the relationship between India and the US has never been so good. “We’ve never had a closer relationship with India. Americans of Indian descent are now about 1.5% of our population. And pay six per cent of the taxes in America. It is the most successful immigrant community in America,” he said.

“While the story used to be about American companies going to India to invest, which we still do,… increasingly we’re seeing this two-way street, a bridge in the Indo-pacific coming from India into the United States, savings steel mills, looking at mines that have been shut down, investing in electrolytes for electric vehicles of the future, the services, the health care,” Garcetti said.

Diane Farrell, Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade, from the Department of Commerce said India has the largest country delegation to the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Divyakumar Bhair, Board Member, JSW Steel USA said that these investments would go into manufacturing high-end steel plates which are used for offshore wind, monopile, transition pieces, and towers.

“This will not only help realise the dream of clean energy for the generations to come in the United States but will also catalyse the local economies of Texas,” he said. JSW USA is part of the diversified USD 24 billion JSW Group.

(With Agency Inputs)