Arun K. Singh may have already had a better understanding of Alabama than he realized before his visit to the state this week.

The India ambassador to the U.S.’s home country has a passion for cricket that sounds a lot like our fervor for football.

“I can tell you when there is a cricket match going on in India, then 1.2 billion people of India do nothing else,” Singh said. “Like some of the sports events here, cricket is more than a game, it’s a passion. It’s a way of life in India.”

Singh also found more substantive connections between Alabama and India and said he is convinced there are areas where the two can help each other grow and prosper.

“It is clear that we already have good areas of cooperation,” he said. “There is investment and engagement by companies based here in India through production in India, sales to India; through service sector relationships, getting design work related to some of the products done in India. We are very good in India now in services, design-related work in the IT sector.”

Singh is now in his 10^th month as ambassador and is visiting states’ local and state leaders, businesses, universities and local Indian communities and organizations.

“We have, now, a wide-ranging relationship between India and the United States,” Singh said. “This covers political questions. It covers strategic and security issues where we find a lot of convergence. It covers trade and economic relations and also people-to-people relationships. Keeping all of these aspects in mind, I do try to meet with leadership in different domains in these states to assess what are the ongoing areas of cooperation, what are the challenges we are facing and what are the opportunities we can create.”

In Alabama, he visited the University of Alabama at Birmingham, toured Innovation Depot and spoke with the Alabama India Business Partnership before heading to Montgomery to speak at Maxwell Air Force Base and meet with Gov. Robert Bentley.

“International business development in Alabama, including both investment and trade, continues to grow, and the importance of strong diplomatic relationships with the countries we do business with is also growing,” Brian Hilson, president and CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance, said. “India is now Alabama’s 10th largest export market, and direct investment from Indian companies is increasing.”

Hilson said it is always a special opportunity when Birmingham and the rest of the state can communicate its attributes directly with dignitaries.

“This week’s visit with Ambassador Singh gave us the opportunity to bring him together with Mayor (William) Bell and the leaders of some of Birmingham’s top companies, some of which have facilities in India,” he said. “We expect economic relations between Alabama and India will continue to strengthen.”

Singh noted those relationships are producing fruit.

“In the last five years, Indian companies have invested $15 billion in the U.S. economy and now have a presence across 42 states,” Singh said. “Many of them are also present in Alabama with investments here.”

Arun K. Singh, India ambassador to the U.S., talks about his Alabama visit from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Singh said he was pleased to see the extent of India students, professors and instructors already at work within the University of Alabama System.

But it was the visit to Innovation Depot that really impressed Singh and made it obvious where some of the greatest opportunities exist.

“With all of the energy here in the innovation domain, the opportunity for partnership with India in innovation is going to be tremendous because the U.S. remains the world leader in innovation, including in digital technology,” Singh said. “We have found, based on our experience, that Indian companies, Indian-origin tech entrepreneurs, Indian-origin tech workers are an integral part of the U.S. being part of the world leader in innovation in these areas.”

Efforts to grow information technology (IT) in Alabama present specific opportunities for India, Singh said.

“IT is an area of strength for India,” he said. “It’s more than a $100 billion industry in India. It’s an important part of the U.S.-India trade relationship. Based on the feedback that I have got from India companies and U.S. companies, the sense I get is that India’s engagement with the U.S. in this sector contributes to technology generation and profitability of U.S. companies, which is really a win-win for both of us.”

Economic connections are part of a larger need for cultural connections, which is another aim of Singh’s role as ambassador.

“Cultures come together in many ways – through sports, through cultural exchanges, through people-to-people connectivity, through trade and other links,” he said. “All of these are ways of bringing people closer together, of enhancing understanding. I think it’s very important in today’s world where there are challenges related to exclusion, extremism that people are exposed to other cultures and bring a better understanding of other cultures, perceptions related to other cultures. I think it will enrich all of us.”

Cricket and college football could be just the start.