Piyush Goyal Meets US Business Leaders to Discuss India Investment Opportunities
Discussions in New York covered investment and business opportunities across manufacturing, financial services, technology, AI, energy and other sectors.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held meetings with senior executives of several US companies in New York this week to discuss India-US trade and investment ties. The meetings also focused on opportunities for US companies to expand their investments, manufacturing and business engagement in India, according to the commerce ministry.
Discussions with US Investment Firms
Goyal met Blackstone president and chief operating officer Jonathan Gray and chairman of Blackstone’s international private equity business Prakash Melwani to discuss expanding the company's investments and partnerships in India across key sectors.
He also met Neuberger Berman chairman and chief executive George Walker and members of its senior leadership team. The discussions covered opportunities to strengthen investment linkages and engagement in financial and wealth management services.
Goyal separately met General Atlantic chairman and CEO William E. Ford to discuss opportunities to further deepen the company's investment and business engagement with India.
Manufacturing and Technology Among Key Areas
During a meeting with Estée Lauder Companies president and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie, Goyal discussed growth opportunities in India, including increased manufacturing and sourcing. The discussions also covered India's growing beauty and personal care market.
Goyal met IBM chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, with discussions focusing on strengthening IBM's engagement in India and expanding collaboration in artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, quantum computing and other emerging technologies.
Insurance and Financial Services
Goyal also met MetLife president and CEO Michel A. Khalaf. Their discussions focused on the company's growth opportunities in India and the expansion of the insurance and financial services sector.
Separately, Goyal met AIA Group non-executive chairman Mark Tucker. Discussions covered AIA's engagement in India and opportunities in insurance and financial services, including in the context of India's vision of “Insurance for All by 2047”.
India-US Trade and Investment
According to the commerce ministry, the meetings provided an opportunity to discuss India's growth prospects and investment opportunities across financial services, manufacturing, energy, technology, artificial intelligence and other sectors, as well as ways to strengthen India-US economic and commercial ties.
Bilateral trade between India and the US increased to $140.77 billion in fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26) from $132.14 billion in FY25, according to data from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
India's exports to the US rose to $87.31 billion from $86.51 billion, while imports increased to $53.45 billion from $45.63 billion.
As a result, India's trade surplus with the US narrowed to $33.86 billion in FY26 from $40.89 billion in FY25.
India and the US began negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement in February 2025, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump formally announced the talks.