India and the United States held India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue and India-U.S. CEO Forum in New Delhi in February 2019. The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, and Civil Aviation Mr. Suresh Prabhu, chaired the meeting. Secretary of Commerce, United States of America, Mr. Wilbur Ross, could not attend because of an unforeseen flight cancellation due to inclement weather and technical problems. However, he participated in the most of the sessions remotely through teleconference.

The sides assessed the progress made during the year 2018 on the commercial track targets and appreciated the performance in the areas of standards, business climate and investment and travel and tourism. Both sides resolved to further expand and strengthen trade and commerce ties. They appreciated the importance of bilateral engagements in mutually beneficial areas to address commerce and trade issues.

The CEO Forum was co-chaired by Chairman, Tata Sons, N. Chandrasekaran and President and CEO of American Tower Corporation, Mr. James D. Taiclet. The two Governments were represented by Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Mr. Ramesh Abhishek and US Ambassador in India Mr. Kenneth Juster.

The Forum is an effective platform to highlight key issues that affect business entities and to identify areas for closer collaboration for mutual benefit of both economies. It has met thrice after its reconstitution in December 2014 by the Governments of India and USA.