By Arul Louis

New York, Apr 27 (IANS): Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and US pointpersons for Covid-19 relief have met with business leaders to discuss mobilising the private sector to help efforts in India to fight the pandemic, according to State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.

Blinken held a virtual meeting on Monday with leaders of American businesses, the US Chamber of Commerce and the US-India Business Council "to discuss how the US and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the US private sector to support urgent Covid-19 relief efforts in India," Price said.

Blinken was accompanied by the Coordinator for Global Covid Response and Health Security, Gayle Smith, and the National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell, at the meeting.

They gave the business representative an update on US assistance and welcomed coordinating the assistance efforts with US industry, Price said.

The USIBC tweeted after the meeting that the US businesses are mobilising to meet the critical needs in India.

In a tweet, Blinken called the meeting "productive" and said they discussed how the US and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the US private sector to meet the Covid-19 crisis.