India is looking forward to strengthening its economic relationship with the United States by engaging with the incoming Trump administration, India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal told reporters in New Delhi on Friday.

“We are looking forward to a very deep and substantive engagement with the new US administration,” the trade minister said, noting that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has bolstered bilateral relations with successive US administrations, including those led by Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Bilateral trade between India and the United States, India’s largest trading partner, exceeded $118 billion in 2023/24, with India registering a trade surplus of $32 billion.

Industry estimates suggest that trade could grow by an additional $50 billion within two to three years, underscoring the significant potential for stronger economic cooperation.

The government and industry groups favour a broader trade and investment pact with the US to help Indian manufacturers integrate into global supply chains while retaining policy flexibility to safeguard national interests.

Goyal said that India’s goods and services trade is projected to surpass $800bn in the 2024/25 fiscal year, ending March.

While aiming to protect its manufacturers from potential US tariff hikes on its exports, India is exploring ways to strengthen ties with Washington as Trump has threatened tariffs of 60 per cent and other curbs on imports from China.

India says US H1B visas benefit both countries after Trump, Musk backing

The movement of skilled professionals is an important part of India-US ties and benefits both countries, New Delhi said on Friday amid a debate over H-1B visas on which President-elect Donald Trump and his backer Elon Musk commented recently.

India, known for its massive pool of IT professionals, many of whom work across the world, accounts for the bulk of such visas issued by the United States.

Late last month, Trump said he fully backed the H1B programme for foreign workers opposed by some of his supporters after Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, vowed to go to “war” to defend it.

India said such visas provided mutual benefits.

“Our countries have a strong and growing economic and technological partnership and within this ambit, mobility of skilled professionals is an important component,” India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, told a press conference when asked about the H1B visa discussions in the US.

“India-US economic ties benefit a lot from the technical expertise provided by skilled professionals, with both sides leveraging their strengths and competitive value. We look forward to further deepening India-US economic ties which are to our mutual benefit.”

India received about 78% of the 265,777 H1B visas issued by the United States in the fiscal year ended Sept 30, 2023.

The country is keen to strengthen ties under Trump, Jaiswal said, noting that India’s foreign minister and foreign secretary recently visited the United States and held meetings with Trump’s transition team.