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This week, more than 50 Indian CEOs and business leaders traveled thousands of miles to meet with county, state and federal officials in Georgia aimed at persuading groups to set up shop in Georgia. We had a meeting.
The delegation came from Coimbatore, a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They were all members of the Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association (CODISSIA), an industry association representing manufacturers in the Coimbatore region.
The trade mission was organized by the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (GIACC), a nonprofit chamber specifically focused on strengthening business ties between the world’s largest economies, the United States and India.
“This is truly a land of opportunity. [the] Overall in the United States, Georgia is the number one place to do business. So, come here and we will help you prepare,” SK Raj, GIACC board member and one of the main organizers who brought the CODISSIA delegation to Georgia, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. told Tuchon.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
A delegation of 52 executives representing 43 companies arrived in the United States last week, first stopping in Washington, D.C., where they met with Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock on Capitol Hill. They spent several days meeting with officials and local businesses across Georgia, culminating in a meeting Wednesday.
CODISSIA leaders say all participating executives have run successful companies in India and are now looking to expand their global reach. And as relations between the U.S. and China cool, many business executives and officials believe the time is ripe.
“Right now, India and [the U.S. have] closer to each other due to geopolitics, [the] “The US is looking at India as a supplier,” said Sundaram Venkatapathy, CEO of garage equipment maker Sundar Auto and director of CODISSIA’s incubation centre. “This conference is a great platform for us to explore what is possible here.”
According to India’s Consul General in Atlanta, Ramesh Babu, trade between Georgia and India increased by 66% from 2019 to 2023. And Taub Ponce, Georgia Department of Economic Development’s senior international trade manager, said the state’s existing business relationships with India are diverse. He noted at Wednesday’s event that Georgia’s No. 1 export to India last year was civil aircraft, while the No. 1 import was linen, followed by tractors.
GIACC President Jay Joshi said commissioners from Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Forsyth and Wade counties met with delegates earlier in the week to outline the financial incentives they can offer. Former Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Gov. Brian Kemp’s Metro Atlanta representative Sebastian Barron and other trade leaders also met with the group.
GIACC also had a panel of experts explain the process of setting up a business in the United States and how to bring workers from India to Georgia. And the group visited several local businesses “founded by Indians who once came like them,” said GIACC President Grace Multani.
As a follow-up, the chamber is already planning to take a delegation of business owners from Georgia to Coimbatore.
Georgia Republican Rep. Rich McCormick, who represents Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, spoke at Wednesday’s event and emphasized the importance of the relationship with India.
McCormick told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “There is no country more important than ours where we need to work together so strongly.” “Because we have common interests, we have a similar constitution, we have a similar worldview, and we want to see what both the oldest and largest democracies can do together, I think we should continue to be strong allies.” Work together in our best interests for the future.” ”
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
After new congressional maps were drawn last year, McCormick is now running in the 7th Congressional District, which includes Johns Creek and is 14 percent Indian, he said.
Last December, Mr. McCormick introduced a bill that would eliminate the cap on the percentage of H-1B visas (visas that allow foreign nationals to work in the United States) that can travel to one country.
Venkatapathy, who was visiting the United States for the first time, said he was convinced after just one day in Georgia to bring manufacturing to the state. He planned to manufacture subcomponents in India, import them to Georgia, and complete the product in the United States.
“The reason I chose to come here, and I have to tell my friends, is that the ease of doing business here is great,” he said.
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