Indo-US cooperation in the infrastructure sector is set to get a new impetus when Road Transport, Highways & Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari holds official talks with his counter-part US Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx in Washington today, on a wide range of projects of mutual interest. He is on a week-long official trip to the USA. 

Gadkari will be particularly looking for widening and deepening the scope of Indo-US cooperation in innovative technologies for improving highway development, road engineering, road safety and development of green fuels in automobile sector and electric vehicles. 

Also, in his interaction with the US captains of trade and industry in the maritime sector, he plans to highlight investment opportunities in the Indian maritime sector and invite US investments in building ports, port-led industrialization, coastal economic zones, construction of new berths/terminals in existing ports like JNPT, Mumbai and Kandla Ports, capital and maintenance dredging, mechanisation, hinterland connectivity and evacuation infrastructure, ship building, ship repairing and ship recycling. 

At the US Department of Transportation, Gadkari will witness modal presentations by Federal Highway Administration, US Maritime Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

His itinerary in Washington includes a talk on ‘A window into India’s Infrastructure Development’ organised by Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think-tank. The Indian delegation will give presentations on port-led development, inland waterways development and highway infrastructure. Gadkari will be accompanied by Alok Srivastava, Additional Secretary (Shipping), Rohit Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary (Highways), Abhay Damley, Joint Secretary (Transport), Vaibhav Dange and OSD (Shipping) Rajgopal Sharma. 

During his visit to New York on the second leg of his week-long official trip, Gadkari will visit New York City State Transport Department to understand intelligent transport management, city traffic management and control centre and other technology-based transport solutions. In the commercial capital of the US, Shri Gadkari will also have a series of interactions with investors at the meets organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and US Indian Business Council. Gadkari, the press note says, will invite US companies for technology cooperation in road and highway building, road engineering, innovations in automobile sector, road safety and green fuels. 

On the next leg of his visit to San Francisco, Gadkari will have talks with senior officials from the California Transportation Agency, and departments of International Affairs and business development. He will also visit Tesla, manufacturer of electric cars.

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