Nirmala Sitharaman Highlights India's Growth Potential During US Visit, Meets Business Leaders

Chicago, Aug 30: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman interacted and addressed the vibrant Indian diaspora community in the US at the Consulate General of India’s office here, an official statement said on Sunday.

FM Sitharaman lauded the diaspora’s role as a formidable force that enhances India's soft power, global standing, and bilateral relationships.

She emphasised India’s potential to serve not only as a major market but also as a global hub for developing, testing and manufacturing autonomous defence systems, leveraging its technology capabilities, skilled workforce and growing innovation ecosystem.

Meetings with industry leaders

She met Mark S. Hoplamazian, President and CEO, Hyatt, in Chicago. The discussions covered Hyatt’s continued commitment to India and opportunities to further expand its presence as the country’s tourism and hospitality sector enters a new phase of growth, according to a Finance Ministry statement.

She highlighted India’s improving connectivity and infrastructure, which is opening up new tourism and commercial destinations, with Tier-II and Tier-III cities emerging as important centres of economic activity and travel.

The Finance Minister also highlighted the growing opportunities in destination-led tourism, including spiritual, cultural, wellness, medical, nature and experiential tourism, and encouraged Hyatt to leverage its global expertise and asset-light model to deepen partnerships with Indian developers and investors, according to a Finance Ministry post on X.

FM Sitharaman also suggested exploring opportunities for talent development through the National Institute of Hospitality and GIFT City as a potential financing and treasury hub for Hyatt’s growing India operations.

Defence technology cooperation

She earlier met Brandon Tseng, Co-founder and President, Shield AI. The discussions focused on Shield AI’s engagement with India and opportunities to deepen cooperation in AI-enabled autonomy, unmanned systems and next-generation defence technologies, including R&D, technology development, co-development and co-production.

The Finance Minister welcomed Shield AI’s continued interest in India and highlighted the country’s rapidly expanding defence technology ecosystem, strong engineering and AI talent, and growing capabilities in advanced manufacturing and innovation.

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Agriculture and sustainability focus

In her meeting with Monish Patolawala, EVP and CFO, ADM, the discussions covered ADM’s long-standing commitment to India and significant opportunities to deepen its engagement across agriculture, food, nutrition, technology and sustainable value chains.

The Finance Minister welcomed ADM’s investments in India, including its growing farmer partnerships, engagement with FPOs and establishment of its global technology and AI capabilities in Bengaluru.

She highlighted opportunities to further strengthen linkages with Indian farmers and expand regenerative and sustainable agriculture, while leveraging India’s capabilities in food processing, innovation and emerging technologies.

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