'Things trending positive', DOGE co-chair Elon Musk on India-US ties after meeting with Indian business leaders
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.
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.
ELON MUSK HOSTS INDIA GLOBAL FORUM DELEGATION
¡ª Manoj Ladwa (@manojladwa) January 17, 2025
As the world¡¯s most powerful democracy transitions to a Trump presidency, meaningful dialogue is more important than ever in these challenging times.
Pleased to have led a conversation with @elonmusk whose groundbreaking work is¡ pic.twitter.com/ER6MfOElBN
Indian business delegation meets Elon Musk
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.
'Things trending positive'
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".
Indian delegation meets Trump administration
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.
With geopolitics, security, defence & economic cooperation on the table, India Global Forum's landmark debut in the U.S. sets the stage for deeper ????? collaboration, just ahead of the second inauguration of Donald Trump as President.
¡ª India Global Forum (@IGFupdates) January 16, 2025
The discussions explored opportunities in¡ pic.twitter.com/odEKRmIhaD
Musk's business plans in India
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.
Trump's tariff threat
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.
For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
Read More