Memorandum Of Understanding Signed in Washington

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed last week in Washington by visiting Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Secretary, US Transportation Department, Mary Peters.

The MoU would establish an Aviation Cooperative Program for the modernization of India's civil aviation sector, a US Agency statement said.

Under the MoU, the US Trade and Development Agency, Civil Aviation Ministry, the FAA, and public sector entities of both countries will cooperate to identify infrastructural lapses and support modernization of the Indian civil aviation sector.

The program covers issues like infrastructure, safety, enhancing air service quality, operational efficiency, flight security, air-space management and system capacity.

USIBC

The US-India Business Council (USIBC) welcomed Patel at a luncheon in Washington on Thursday to discuss opportunities for American investment in India's air transportation and aviation infrastructure.

Former Deputy US Trade Representative and USIBC Board Member Amb. Sue Esserman praised Patel for his leadership in broadening the US-India aviation corridor and developing new avenues of cooperation in air safety, training, and infrastructure development, reported Daily India.

"We will have to work very actively in infrastructure," said Patel, "We need to create our own hubs [including] a cargo hub in Nagpur," to support India's booming logistics and shipping sectors.

USIBC President Ron Somers lauded Minister Patel for his achievements in stimulating India's aviation industry and his new aspiration to develop a network of 400 modern international, domestic, and municipal airports across India by 2020.

"India's passenger and cargo airlines experienced phenomenal growth rates last year, and Minister Patel recognizes the importance of supporting these airlines by developing sufficient infrastructure," said Ron Somers.

"Equally as important, we have a true two-way street for US and Indian carriers, with Jet Airways and other Indian airlines opening international flights between our two countries."

During the session, Patel called for tackling the challenging issues of inadequate infrastructure and skilled manpower.

"We need more pilot training and engineering facilities as well as more technical people. The real challenge is to build infrastructure in the shortest possible time. Otherwise we cannot sustain this kind of growth."

According to Patel, India must allow private players to build new merchant airports and should promote regional airlines in tier two and tier three cities with one major hub in a region, if it aims to widen the sector.

USIBC celebrates its 32nd Anniversary on June 27th in Washington, DC at its "Global India" Summit, which will feature Boeing's CEO Jim McNerney, Reliance's CEO Mukesh Ambani, India's Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The US-India Business Council is composed of 250 of the largest US companies investing in India, joined by two dozen global Indian companies, whose common aim is to strengthen commercial relations and deepen two-way trade.

FMI: www.usibc.com, http://civilaviation.nic.in, www.dot.gov