President Obama’s remarks come after some moves in the U.S. that had Indian outsourcers worried that the U.S. may get protectionist in the wake of job losses in the country. The state of Ohio, for example, banned earlier this year the expenditure of public funds for offshore purposes.

U.S. exports to India have quadrupled in recent years, and currently support tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the U.S., he said in a speech that was also streamed live. In addition, there are jobs supported by exports to India of agriculture products, travel and education services.

Indian investment in the U.S. also runs into billions of dollars, and supports jobs in the country, he said.

President Obama, who is in India on a three-day visit, said that more than 20 deals worth about US$10 billion [b] were announced on the first day of his visit. The deals, in a variety of areas including aircraft, turbines, and mining equipment, could potentially create over 50,000 jobs in the U.S., he added.

President Obama said his objective was to create jobs in the U.S., and to rebuild the country’s economy, but it would not be at the expense of the creation of jobs in other countries. The U.S. will instead discover, create and build products that are sold all over the world, he said.