US to announce major Indo-Pacific initiatives

The Trump administration is set to roll out its major policy initiatives to address the massive infrastructural and energy needs of the strategic Indo-Pacific region where India is seen as one of the anchor countries for greater connectivity and trade.

The move comes nine months after the Trump administration openly spoke against the “predatory economic policies of an Asian giant” that threatens to eat into sovereignty of countries in the Indo-Pacific region, which has now emerged as a critical engine for growth.

President Trump has lined up his top Cabinet members – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Energy Secretary Rick Perry - at US Chamber of Commerce which is hosting the first Indo-Pacific Business Forum meeting tomorrow. The forum will introduce the economic and commercial elements of the US’s whole-of-government IndoPacific strategy and will include participation from senior administration officials, private sector and officials representing IndoPacific nations.

Asian economies are now projected to create 50 per cent of the global GDP in coming decades.

To realise that potential, countries of the Indo-Pacific will need to attract nearly $26 trillion in capital from the private sector and not the government to fund their energy and infrastructure needs, Nisha Desai Biswal, president of the US India Business Council (USIBC) said.

She said American companies will be a critical player in both investing the capital and building the technology and infrastructure that the region requires.

“It’s an event that brings together business, private sector and many of our partners from the region to kind of have a conversation about how we boost engagement investment across the Indo Pacific,” Biswal, a key player in this initiative, told PTI ahead of the first Forum.

In addition to Pompeo, Ross and Perry envisioning the administration’s policies for the Indo-Pacific region, other top administration officials include USAID Administrator Mark Green, OPIC President Ray Washburne, Acting Ex-Im Bank Chairman Jeffrey Gerrish, and US Chamber President and CEO Thomas J Donohue.

“All would be making announcements or sharing key investment opportunities that they are advancing in the Indo-Pacific region,” Desai said.

Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Singh Sarna is among the few diplomats from the region who have been invited to speak during the forum event.