Congressional nod for GE engine deal soon: Envoy
GE engine will hopefully be done by Monday, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told ET on Friday, ahead of President Joe Biden's visit for bilateral engagements and G20 Summit.
«What makes this visit special is G20 plus bilaterals...since the State visit, there has been no let up on Indian side and no let up on our side. There is excitement, we do dozens of things together — arts, culture, economy and defence. Our bilateral work is also multilateral work,» Garcetti said.
The Biden visit (September 7-10) could witness further agreements and more initiatives could be announced, according to Garcetti.
This could cover areas of consulates, H1B visas, counter-narcotics and artefacts.
On implementation of India-US GE engine deal, the envoy said hopefully the Congressional notification for GE engine will be done by Monday morning.
It may be recalled that US jet engine manufacturer General Electric (GE) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in June, during the PM's visit, to produce combat aircraft engines for the Indian Air Force. The agreement paves the way for the potential joint manufacturing of GE's popular F414 engines in India. This engine will power India's homegrown Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk2.
On drone deal, Garcetti said, «It is in India's hands.
We are optimistic. We are working out finer details.»
On India's role in Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), the Ambassador said, «We are so excited about India joining IPEF. We have same goal: diversify supply chains.
