US Consulate General Kolkata, in partnership with Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS International), East-West Center (EWC) & Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will host the "Indo-Asia Connectivity for Shared Prosperity" conference at The Grand Hotel, Kolkata from December 14-15, 2016. The purpose is to advance the strategic goal of expanding viable commercial links between India, the countries of South and Southeast Asia, and the United States as a part of the U.S. vision of an Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor (IPEC). The conference will focus on three key policy areas:

1) Energy Cooperation
2) Trade and Investment
3) Maritime & inland waterways connectivity
4) Bay of Bengal Business Forum

The Kolkata Summit will bring together government officials including policy-makers, private sector, trade and investment promotion bodies including business associations, Young Ambassadors of the respective countries, media, banking corporations, multilateral funding agencies, think tank leaders, representatives of diplomatic corps, and other relevant stakeholders from the region to connect and deliberate on issues, challenges, opportunities and identified solutions to enhance trade and investment,connectivity and cooperation through knowledge-sharing and people-to-people connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region of South Asia and Southeast Asia for greater peace, stability and security of the region and their positive spill-over effects in other parts of the world.