India and the United States are ready to significantly swell two-sided trade in strategic and high tech regions after a conference of the India-US High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG), its first since President Barack Obama took on office.

HTCG's seventh assembly will be co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao along with Dennis F. Hightower, Deputy Secretary of Commerce on March 15-16, the Indian embassy.

An embassy representative stated, "Both sides hope to consolidate the progress made in the last five years and move ahead to significantly expand bilateral trade in strategic and high technology areas."

The HTCG was established in the year 2002 in order to offer a forum for talking over US-India high tech trade matters and ramping up the trust needed to ease trade in sensitive items.

Rao will be traveling to Washington and New York from March 14-19. During her stay the US-India Business Council (USIBC) will host the industry dialogue on March 15.

This industry dialogue is organized jointly with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The dialogue will provide US and Indian industry delegates a chance to discuss methods in which the two administrations can aid trade in specific industry segments, and make proposals to the Governments of India and the USA.

Despite conferences in the Commerce Department, Rao will also be meeting senior members of the US Administration plus the US Congress during her stay in Washington.

India and the US had decided on setting up a Strategic Dialogue to be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and also a revised Dialogue Architecture last year during Clinton's visit to India last July. (With Input from Agencies)