The annual AmCham India Door Knock Delegation to Washington D.C. was led by Chairperson, Ms. Vanitha Narayanan, Managing Director – India / South Asia, IBM, on 20th-22nd September, to coincide with the U.S. – India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. The delegation interacted with some of the key players in the dialogue and other decision-makers.

On the afternoon of Sunday, 20th September the delegation met with Mr. Arun Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the Foreign Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce and Mr. Vinay Singh, Senior Advisor – Global Markets, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Later in the evening the AmCham India delegation had a meeting at the Willard Intercontinental with Mr. Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India. Also in the meeting was Mr. Rajiv Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India and Mr. John McCaslin, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia in Global Markets, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

On Monday, 21st September the delegation met with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff which included Ms. Carolyn Leddy, Senior Professional Staff Member for East Asia and the Pacific, Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Mr. Frank Polley, Policy Analyst, Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The delegation also met with Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA), Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus on India and Mr. Akshai Datta, Senior Legislative Assistant for Congressman Ami Bera.

In the afternoon the delegation proceeded to the Capitol Building and met with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Co-Chair, Senate India Caucus and Mr. David Hanke, Counsel for National Security Affairs for Senator John Cornyn.

In the evening the AmCham delegation participated in the USIBC 40th Anniversary Leadership Summit. Featured speakers included:

S. Vice President Joe Biden
John Kerry, Secretary of State, U.S.
Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, GOI
Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce
Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State, Independent Charge, for Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GOI
Piyush Goyal, Minister of State, Independent Charge for Power, Coal, and New & Renewable Energy, GOI

On Tuesday 22nd September the day began with a briefing by Ambassador Tim Roemer, Senior Director & Strategic Counselor, Global Political Strategies, APCO Worldwide (former US Ambassador to India).

Immediately following that, the delegation met with the staff of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Mr. Jonathan Hale, Senior Advisor to Senator Cantwell.

The delegation met the staff of Congressman Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Chairman, House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific (House Foreign Affairs Committee), Ms. Lorissa Bounds, Deputy Chief of Staff.

In the afternoon the delegation met with Ambassador Robert Holleyman, Deputy, U.S. Trade Representative and Ms. Dawn Shackleford, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for India, USTR.

The door knock program concluded after meeting with Ms. Lee Zak, Director, United States Trade & Development Agency (USTDA). Others present in the meeting included:

Henry Steingass, Regional Director for South and Southeast Asia
Katherine Michaud, Country Manager, South Asia and Southeast Asia
Jamie Merriman, Country Manager, South and Southeast Asia

The AmCham India Door Knock Delegation to Washington D.C. 2015

Vanitha Narayanan, Managing Director – India/South Asia, IBM India
Kaku Nakhate, President & Country Head – India, Bank of America
Madan Mohan, Executive Chairman, S&P Capital IQ India
Phil Shaw, Chief Executive – India, Lockheed Martin India
Air Vice Marshal (Retd) AJS Walia, Regional Executive – India & South Asia, Sikorsky
Gaurang Pandya, President – United Technologies Corporation (Building & Industrial Systems) – India Region
Samit Ray, Director Government Affairs, UTC India
Chris Cerone, Vice President Global Government Affairs, Zimmer Biomet
Ajay Singha, Executive Director, AmCham India
Valerie Swope, Program Coordinator, AmCham India