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Washington, D.C. - Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta presided over the signings of a number of U.S. business agreements with India's public and private sector. He also witnessed the signing of U.S. Export Import Bank (Ex-Im) pledges of $900 million to help Indian businesses purchase U.S. goods and services, and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) documents pledging support for urban development and energy training. The signings took place during the second session of the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue, revitalized during President Clinton's visit to India in March 2000. Joining Mineta at the ceremonies at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were key officials from USAID, the Department of Energy, Ex-Im Bank, and the Indian Government, including Minister of Finance Yashwant Sinha. "These agreements are just one more example of our commitment to opening avenues in which trade and prosperity can flow and flourish," Mineta said. "The more we expand commercial cooperation and technical assistance, the more we improve economic security and the quality of life for people at home and abroad." These projects, carried through to fruition, could have potential value in excess of $6 billion. Today's signings include the following U.S. company business agreements: Southern Energy, Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia) signed a Development Agreement with the Indian firm, Reliance Power Ltd. and the Power Trading Corporation of India Ltd. for the Hirma power project in the State of Orissa. This will be the world's largest independent power project, and will sell power to five state electricity boards -- Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. CMS Energy Corporation (Dearborn, Michigan) signed a Joint Development Agreement with the Power Trading Corporation of India Ltd. The Agreement prescribes milestones for concluding a Power Purchase Agreement and other key agreements in connection with the construction of the Ennore Liquified Natural Gas Terminal and 1850-megawatt Power plant in the State of Tamil Nadu. LNG for the facility will be sourced in part from an Exxon-Mobil field in Qatar. Power Trading Corporation is expected to purchase all of the plant's output, with commitments for subsequent sales to the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. CMS will oversee construction of the plant, while Unocal, a co-investor, will coordinate construction of the LNG terminal. Synergics Energy Development, Inc. (Annapolis, Maryland) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, an Indian bank, regarding the financing of the Shrinagar Hydroelectric Power project in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The Shrinagar Hydroelectric project will provide power for three million people in Northern India. This clean energy source will help alleviate acute energy shortages in the region and eliminate more than a million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by reducing the use of coal. U.S. Business Network, Inc. (San Francisco, California) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Satyam Infoway, Ltd., an Indian Internet access and Internet services provider, to establish a business-to-business e-commerce joint venture for cross-border trade. In addition to witnessing these commercial signings, Secretary Mineta witnessed signings of Export-Import Bank MOUs with the State Bank of India and with the Industrial Development Bank of India. Export-Import Bank also signed a Master Guarantee Agreement with the Export-Import Bank of India. The Master Guarantee Agreement will allow the Export-Import Bank of India to issue loans with the support of guarantees from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
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