Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal held a series of meetings with senior leaders of leading U.S. companies in New York during the week of October 7, 2026, to discuss opportunities for strengthening India–U.S. trade and invite top US companies to explore investment opportunities in India.
The Minister met with President & COO of Blackstone Mr. Jonathan Gray and Chairman of Blackstone’s International Private Equity business Mr. Prakash Melwani, focusing discussions on expanding Blackstone’s investments and partnerships in India across key sectors. He also met with Chairman & CEO of Neuberger Berman Mr. George Walker and senior members of its leadership team, covering opportunities to deepen investment linkages and strengthen engagement in financial and wealth management services.
In the meeting with President & CEO of The Estée Lauder Companies Mr. Stéphane de La Faverie, discussions centered on growth opportunities in India, including through increased manufacturing and sourcing, and India’s growing beauty and personal care market. With Chairman and CEO of IBM Mr. Arvind Krishna, discussions focused on further strengthening IBM’s engagement in India and expanding collaboration in AI, cloud infrastructure, quantum computing and other emerging technologies.
The Minister met with President and CEO of MetLife Mr. Michel A. Khalaf to discuss the company’s growth opportunities in India and the expanding insurance and financial services sector. He also met with Chairman & CEO of General Atlantic Mr. William E. Ford to discuss opportunities to further deepen the company’s investment and business engagement with India. Additionally, Shri Goyal met with Non-Executive Chairman of AIA Group Mr. Mark Tucker, focusing discussions on AIA’s engagement in India and opportunities in the insurance and financial services sectors, including in the context of India’s vision of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’.
The series of meetings provided an opportunity to discuss India’s growth prospects and investment opportunities across financial services, manufacturing, energy, technology, AI and other sectors, and ways to further strengthen India–U.S. economic and commercial ties.