PM Modi US visit: PM meets 5 global CEOs from key sectors
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will meet leading American CEOs in Washington from five different key sectors and highlighted the economic opportunities in India. Modi, who arrived in the US on Wednesday on an official visit to the US during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, held one-on-one meetings with CEOs of Qualcomm, Adobe, First Solar, General Atomics, and Blackstone.
Two of them are Indian-Americans – Shantanu Narayen from Adobe and Vivek Lall from General Atomics. Three others are Cristiano E Amon from Qualcomm, Mark Widmar from First Solar, and Stephen A Schwarzman from Blackstone. Ahead of his meeting with the business leaders, Modi had said he would interact with leading CEOs to highlight economic opportunities in India.
Modi’s meeting with Vivek Lall is significant as General Atomics is not only the pioneer in military drone technologies but also the world’s top manufacturer of state-of-the-art military drones, which the US shares only with its key allies and partners.
Modi first met Cristiano R. Amon, President, and CEO of Qualcomm, and offered him exposure in India’s communication sector and 5G experiments. Prime Minister’s office tweeted the meeting details and photo.
Talking technology…
President and CEO of @Qualcomm, @cristianoamon and PM @narendramodi had a productive interaction. PM Modi highlighted the vast opportunities India offers. Mr. Amon expressed keenness to work with India in areas such as 5G and other @_DigitalIndia efforts. pic.twitter.com/kKcaXhpFtB
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 23, 2021
The meeting with chip giant Cristiano Amon assumes significance, given India’s push for the 5G technology to be safe and secure. Modi’s meeting with Vivek Lall is significant as General Atomics is not only the pioneer in military drone technologies but also the world’s top manufacturer of state-of-the-art military drones, which the US shares only with its key allies and partners. India is in the process of procuring a significant number of drones for the three branches of its armed forces. It has also leased a few drones from General Atomics.
Jakarta-born Lall, now based out of California, for over a decade, has been instrumental in major bilateral defence deals worth around USD 18 billion, as India and the US take steps to forge a new relationship in which defence trade is a key pillar.
As India is taking gigantic steps in the use of solar power to meet its energy needs, the meeting with Mark Widmar is important as First Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic (“PV”) solar solutions, which use its advanced module and system technology. Early this summer, the Arizona-based company announced to add 3.3 GW of capacity in a new facility in India at an estimated cost of USD 684 million.
Stephen A. Schwarzman is Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms investing capital on behalf of pension funds, large institutions, and individuals. In March this year, Blackstone announced that funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate have acquired Embassy Industrial Parks from Warburg Pincus and Embassy Group, in one of India’s largest logistics transactions.
[with PTI inputs]
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Good that the PM is meeting the CEOs of top technology companies. Hope it brings some things to India or end up sponsoring film fare awards like pan masala companies do.