Colorado woman pushes trade with India
According to the head of the Denver, Colorado-based National U.S. India Chamber of Commerce, there has never been a better time than the present for Colorado companies to do business in India, the Denver Post reports.
Founder and chief executive of the chamber, Purnima Voria, told the news source that trade relations between the U.S. and India were helped significantly by President Barack Obama's recent visit to the South Asia country.
Voria, who was recently appointed to the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Advisory Council for Minority Business Enterprises, also flew to India to participate in the president's visit, according to the news provider.
Voria founded the chamber five years ago in order to promote trade between the two countries, with one of the major goals being the promotion of the EB-5 visa program. Through this program, foreign investors can become U.S. green card-eligible if they invest $1 million (or $500,000 in some areas) in a U.S. project that either creates or maintains 10 full-time jobs.
During the recent trip to India, President Obama announced deals between the two countries that will potentially support 53,670 jobs and create exports of $9.5 billion, according to the Post. He also reportedly pleased the Indians by criticizing Pakistan's slow progress in getting rid of terrorists, Voria told the news provider.
Voria added that Colorado and other Western states can tap into India's growing market strength, with satellite cities such as Pune in western India and Hyderabad in the east being two specific markets that should be explored.
She also said that Aspen and Vail are becoming increasingly popular destinations for wealthy Indians, as a group of investors from the country recently purchased a large portion of land in northern Colorado for a residential and golf course development.
"It's very important to wake up to these economic opportunities or else other places are going to beat us," she told the Post.
Voria reportedly hopes to meet with Governor-elect John Hickenlooper to discuss a potential Colorado trade mission to India.
This year, through August, India has been Colorado's 18th-largest export market, according to statistics from WiserTrade and the World Trade Center in Denver. While exports to India fell in both 2008 and 2009 as they did in most cases, they have rebounded with a 22 percent growth this year, according to the data.








