US secretary of state Hillary Clinton arrived in India on Tuesday for the second round of US-India strategic talks. Mrs Clinton’s three-day visit is her second to India as secretary of state and follows President Barack Obama’s trip last November.

Following discussions with Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna in Delhi, Mrs Clinton called for deeper trade ties between the two nations. She is due to visit Madras (Chennai), a hub for US investment, where she will visit a Ford car factory. Today will also see the US secretary of state address a gathering of students and opinion-makers at the newly-built Anna Centenary Library at Kotturpuram.

India is currently the US’s 12th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade of almost $50bn (£31bn). In June, the two countries agreed to improve access to each other’s markets – the US wants India to become one of its top 10 trading partners.

As Alex Hickman, Chartwell’s Managing Partner, pointed out on this blog, “everyone now wants to be India’s best friend.”

Roddy Gow, CEO of Asia House and an expert speaker on the region, recently spoke to Chartwell about the key issues that affect UK businesses setting up in Asia.