Bengaluru: A delegation comprising over 30 industry experts from Montgomery in the US held discussions with the team of Karnataka ministers headed by Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil to explore investment opportunities. The meeting was held on Friday.
Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, and Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Govindaraj were also present in the talks held with the Montgomery delegation led by Elrich Marc County Executive, Montgomery County (MD USA).
A Karnataka business delegation had held talks with the US-India SME Council during its’ recent America visit and invited them to visit the state to identify investment opportunities.
Speaking on the occasion here in Bengaluru, Minister MB Patil said that there has been a significant growth of 7.5 times in India-USA bilateral trade in the last two decades and trade volume is projected to exceed USD 230 billion by 2025.
More than 2,000 leading US companies are operating in Karnataka, employing over 1.3 million individuals. In 2019 alone, the US made investments in India surpassing USD 45 billion, Patil noted.
Bengaluru, being the heart of Karnataka’s innovation landscape, has emerged as a vast reservoir of artificial intelligence and machine learning professionals, the Minister pointed out.
Further, Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, getting into specifics, said that the state has been keen to collaborate with Montgomery in the health sector.