Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to take up the concerns of Indians on American H1B visas, among other issues, with Ivanka Trump, adviser and daughter of US President Donald Trump, when they have an exclusive meeting for about 20 minutes at Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad on Tuesday evening, a couple of hours after launching the eight edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES).
PM Modi and Ivanka will drive from HICC (Hyderabad International Convention Centre) at Madhapur where they will participate in the GES inaugural, to the Falaknuma Palace for the dinner hosted by the former for the delegates. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and some officials are expected to be present at the talks.
According to sources from the Niti Aayog, which is coordinating the summit from the Indian side, the Prime Minister would be discussing the recent changes in visas for skilled Indians in the US. This is the second time PM Modi will be meeting Ivanka. Their first meeting was on 26 June this year at the White House in the presence of the President.
Government officials and industry bodies wanted to submit memorandums to Ivanka on H1B visa curbs proposed in the US Congress. The Niti Aayog has assured them that the PM would be taking up all concerns, including visa-related ones, at the highest level and there was no need to press the issue independently.
The possible presence of Ajit Doval, who will accompany the PM, suggests that the meeting might also cover security issues like the release of Pakistan-based terror kingpin Hafiz Saeed, among others. Ivanka will be received by Sushma Swaraj in a grand welcome at the Shamshabad International Airport on the city outskirts at 1.30 pm on Tuesday.
She will first go to Westin Hotel and arrive at HICC for the GES launch at 5 pm.
The PM will arrive in a special aircraft from Delhi at Begumpet old airport at 2.30 pm the same day and participate in the launch of the 30km of the Hyderabad Metro at Miyapur. He will reach the HICC at 4.30 pm and launch GES. Ivanka will deliver her keynote address on the summit theme, “Women First, Prosperity for All”, on Wednesday and meet entrepreneurs before leaving for US by a commercial flight at around 2.30 pm. Sources from the US consulate told this newspaper that Ivanka would meet important speakers from all four thrust areas of GES—healthcare, digital economy, energy and media and entertainment.
Already, dozens of GES delegates from the US and other countries have arrived in the city and more than half of 2,000 hotel rooms booked for the event are occupied. Of the 1,200 delegates expected to attend the GES, around 250 are NRI entrepreneurs and half of them are women. Interestingly, around 52% of total delegates are women. Ever since this global business platform was begun by then US President Barak Obama in 2010, the GES was more about showcasing American business opportunities and less about pumping investments into host countries or budding entrepreneurs. In fact, Obama conceived the GES mainly to wean away Muslims from terror networks and make them entrepreneurs.
Once the summits were concluded, investments into ventures of entrepreneurs were meagre. This is evident from the insignificant funds flow into host countries of GES held in Istanbul, Dubai, Marrakech, Nairobi and Kuala Lumpur (two other summits were held in Washington and Silicon Valley of US).
However, government officials and delegates in Hyderabad are confident that this time, the GES would witness a quantum jump in venture capital funding.
Ivanka’s special interest would contribute to flow of funds not less than $10 billion this time, a secretary with industries department said.