Hyderabad: The United States will work with
the Indian government and private sector to make the country a
regional aviation hub, American Ambassador Timothy J Roemer
said here on Wednesday.
"The USA will work with Indian public and private sector
partners to create economic opportunities and jobs in both the
countries," he said addressing the India Aviation 2010
conference, organised jointly by the Ministry of Civil
Aviation and apex industry body FICCI here.
Under the US-India Aviation Programme, a public-private
partnership project, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
will be involved in the work on helicopter aviation security,
he said. The United States is the focus country in the
five-day aviation event, while France is a partner country.
The US companies participating in the show are ready to
partner with India on its goal of modernising and upgrading
airports, improving air traffic flow and "making it a regional
aviation hub," the US envoy said.
He urged US business community to seize every opportunity
that comes across during the event to facilitate greater
cooperation between the two counties in the aviation sector.
"I would encourage American and Indian business leaders
and policymakers to take this opportunity to share ideas on
how our countries can work together better," Roemer said.
Roemer said the US had already awarded a grant of Rs 2.4
crore to the DGCA for technical assistance to help expand safe
and reliable helicopter services throughout India.
"Bell helicopter will be lending its expertise to help
Indian helicopter sector grow," the Ambassador said.
US Federal Aviation Administration and Airports Authority
of India (AAI) would work together to share the best practices
and strategies to improve airports and make them profitable,
Roemer said.
"At the outset, I want to let the US companies here that
the US Government and our mission in India stand beside you to
embrace the opportunities and tackle the challenges in the
Indian aviation sector," the Ambassador said.
Addressing the inaugural session, French Ambassador
Jerome Bonnafont said India and France will have a lot to do
together in aviation sector to make India a regional aviation
hub.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 03, 2010, 18:41