Ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, his right-hand man Elon Musk met with a host of Indian business leaders and expressed confidence that ties between India and the US are trending positive. Musk met the Indian business leaders at his SpaceX Starbase facility in Texas on Friday.
The Indian business leaders who met Musk include Essar Capital's Director Prashant Ruia, Co-Head of Kotak811 Jay Kotak, OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal, CEO of Flipkart Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and Aryaman Birla, the Director of Aditya Birla Management Corporation.
The delegation was part of the India Global Forum (IGF), the UK-headquartered policy and events platform, which is now expanding into the US.
During the discussion, Musk emphasised the potential for deeper collaboration between the United States and India, particularly in the technology and space exploration sectors.
¡°Things are trending positive. I¡¯m certainly in favour of lowering trade barriers to increase commerce between the US and India,¡± Musk said.
He went on to describe India as "one of the ancient civilisations and a very great and very complex one".
The delegation had earlier held closed-door discussions on Thursday with members of the incoming Trump administration and key US stakeholders and policymakers, including Jacob Helberg - the Designated Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment in the new American administration.
The meetings, including with Musk, attain significance as the Tesla CEO, who is also the co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is expected to play a key role in the policies of the Trump administration, especially when it comes to trade and technology. Musk also has business ambitions in India, including bringing Tesla and Starlink to the country.
Throughout his election campaign and post his victory in November, Trump had criticised India over high tariffs on American goods and threatened to impose reciprocating measures.
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