By Arun Kumar

Washington, June 20 (IANS) Leading Indian and US business leaders are set to meet here this week to take stock of the US-India commercial relationship and calibrate a fresh course for progress for decades to come.

Organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) representing 400 US companies doing business in India, the trade association's 36th annual conclave will also feature three business delegations from India led by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and AmCham India.

India's Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, and President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff and former US Secretary of Commerce, William Daley, will be the featured government speakers, USIBC said.

Several other US and Indian government officials, senators and congressmen, ambassadors, and the Indian-American community are also expected to attend.

USIBC Chairman, Harold "Terry" McGraw III will present USIBC's Global Leadership Award, to ICICI Bank's Managing Director & CEO, Chanda Kochhar and FedEx Corporation's Chairman, President, & CEO, Fred Smith, for their contributions
to the US-India commercial relationship.

The theme of this year's USIBC Leadership Summit, Addressing Challenges, Boosting Ties, reflects a growing concern among investors over headwinds that the US-India relationship has recently encountered, USIBC said.

Noting that overall, two-way trade in 2010 surpassed $72 billion, whereas just five years ago, trade was only $25 billion, USIBC said US companies are evaluating investment opportunities in India as never before.

The conclave it said aims to consolidate the impressive gains already made on this exciting US-India journey, while setting a fresh course that looks towards a bright, promising future.