Opening Trade with India: A Panel Discussion with Mayor Annise Parker
VIEW EVENT DETAILSOver 700 Houston companies report business and trade ties with India: the Houston-Galveston Customs District is the third busiest gateway for U.S.-Indian trade by sea and air and export-import trade with India totaled $4.7 billion in 2014. Houston’s connections to the country boasting the world’s second largest population are strong, vital, and growing.
In April 2015, Mayor Annise Parker and a 30-member delegation including Greater Houston Partnership, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Houston Airport System, Port of Houston and various local business representatives traveled to India. While great strides have occurred in strengthening business development on both sides of the Houston-India axis—particularly in the aviation and medical sectors—there are still significant challenges to overcome in order to increase depth and breadth of engagement. At Asia Society, Andrew F. Icken, Bob Pertierra and Jagdip Ahluwalia will discuss current U.S.-India trade relations. Dr. Russell A. Green of the Baker Institute will moderate the discussion. Brief opening remarks will be given by Mayor Parker and Consul General of India, Houston, Mr. Harish Parvathaneni.
Schedule
6:00 pm Reception
7:00 pm Program
Mayor Annise Parker is Houston’s 61st mayor and one of only two women to hold the City’s highest elected office. As the City's chief executive officer, she is responsible for all aspects of the general management of the City and for enforcement of all laws and ordinances. Mayor Parker has spent many years in service to the people of Houston, with six years as a City Council member and six years as City Controller. In addition to her duties as mayor, she is a member of President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience and serves on the boards of the Texas Environmental Research Consortium and Houston Galveston Area Council. Mayor Parker is an advisory board member of the Holocaust Museum, Center for Houston’s Future and the Montrose Center.
Mr. Parvathaneni Harish has been the Consul General of India, Houston since July 2012. Since joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1990, he has learnt Arabic at the American University of Cairo and passed the examination with distinction. He has served in Indian Missions in Cairo and Riyadh and headed the Post as Indian Representative to the Palestinian Authority stationed in Gaza city, He was on secondment to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as the Chief of the Policy Analysis Unit at UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza. He thereafter worked in the East Asia and External Publicity Divisions in the Ministry of External Affairs. For a period of five years since 2007, Mr. Harish was the Joint Secretary and Officer on Special Duty to the Honorable Vice President of India and Chairman of the Council of States of the Indian Parliament, Mr. M Hamid Ansari.
About the Panelists
Andrew F. Icken currently serves as Mayor Annise Parker’s Chief Development Officer for the City of Houston. He has oversight of the Houston Airport System, the Convention & Entertainment Facilities (Houston First Corporation), the Planning Department, the Office of Business Opportunities, the Housing and Community Development Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Economic Development, International Affairs and Development and Homeless Initiatives. Prior to his appointment by Mayor Parker, he served as Deputy Director of Public Works & Engineering for the City of Houston – Planning & Development Services Division. Prior to joining the City of Houston, Mr. Icken served for 6 years as Executive Vice President of the Texas Medical Center and had an extensive career of over 30 years with ExxonMobil.
Bob Pertierra has been the Chief Economic Development Officer and Senior Vice President of Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) since January 2014. He leads GHP’s economic development efforts and oversees GHP’s international trade and investment programs. Prior to joining GHP, Mr. Pertierra served as Vice President of Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC), which he joined in 2003. While at MAC, he focused on economic development efforts in the advanced manufacturing, clean tech and supply chain sectors. He also served eight years as an officer in the U.S. Army and as director of corporate relations for a national nonprofit founded by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Jagdip Ahluwalia is the Founding Secretary of the IACCGH and currently serves as Executive Director. He has worked actively at forging alliances with other chambers and economic agencies in Houston and India. A graduate of Leadership Houston, Senior Fellow - American Leadership Forum and an engineering graduate from the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India, Jagdip has over 30 years of teaching, manufacturing, business management and consulting experience. A member of the Board of Trustees of ALF Gulf Coast he is a past chair of the Mayor’s International Trade Council for South Asia
About the Moderator
Russell A. Green , Ph.D., is the Will Clayton Fellow in International Economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute. He is also an adjunct professor in the Economics Department, where he teaches international finance and macroeconomics. Green’s current research focuses on financial market development in emerging market economies, financial inclusion and Indian developmental challenges. Prior to joining the Baker Institute, Green spent four years in India as the U.S. Treasury Department’s first financial attaché to that country. Green was previously the deputy director of the U.S. Treasury’s Office of International Monetary Policy, where he led efforts to strengthen International Monetary Fund exchange rate policies and international reserve management.
ExxonMobil is the presenting sponsor of Business & Policy programs at Asia Society Texas Center, with lead support from United Airlines.
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