Mumbai, Aug. 19 -- US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Tuesday said India and the US must address existing friction points and create predictable taxation and regulatory frameworks to enable investment, while describing the economic partnership between the two countries as one of the world's most consequential strategic relationships. Addressing members of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) at its national convention in Mumbai, Gor said bilateral trade in goods and services had surged from about $20 billion to more than $240 billion in just over two decades. He described the nearly 12-fold increase as the result of sustained efforts by businesses in both countries. "This 12-fold increase doesn't happen by accident. It happened because everyone of you works at it," Gor said, pointing to artificial intelligence, technology, aerospace, defence and energy as sectors where American and Indian companies are increasingly working together. "The deepening commercial ties are underpinned by deep, unbreakable trust," he added. "What we do today will define this relationship for the future," Gor said, stressing that decisions taken over the next few years would determine the trajectory of India-US ties for decades. He said the shared ambition of taking bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 reflected the scale of the opportunity before the two countries. India and the US are working toward an early conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement, though negotiations have been complicated by tariffs that Washington says seek to address trade imbalances as well as levies over purchases of Russian oil. Gor stressed that the partnership would need to overcome friction points to realise its full potential. "We must address friction points together as true partners," he said. "We need predictable taxation and regulatory frameworks that allow business to thrive. We need candid, trust-based engagement on export controls and technology flows. And we need rock-solid intellectual property protections, giving every innovator in this room the confidence to invest, create and scale without fear." Gor urged Indian companies to consider the US their preferred investment destination. "No market offers the scale, stability and innovation and the ecosystem that America does," he said, adding that the interest among Indian and American CEOs in each other's markets was unmatched....