The Hindu Business Line : New York for `sister-state relationship' with Bengal

A HIGH-POWER delegation from the US, comprising political and business leaders from the state of New York, has said that a "sister-state relationship" between New York city and West Bengal would help tap the full potential of bilateral business, investment and trade between the US and West Bengal.

In a meeting organised here on Tuesday by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, members of the delegation said the proposed sister-state relationship could be on the lines of a "sister-sister relationship" that New York has with Beijing. Such an alliance is aimed at promoting business relationships even as help and expertise is exchanged on social issues, education, healthcare, etc.

The delegation urged business houses in the State to prepare "a 10-year business plan" to facilitate US investment in West Bengal. Indo-US trade and investment initiatives would receive a boost with the introduction of non-stop flights between India and John F. Kennedy airport in New York, they said.

The US delegation comprised, among others, Mr Gregory Meeks, US Congressman, and Mr Malcolm Smith, New York State Senator.

Mr Meeks described West Bengal as "India's best kept secret" and lamented that the Indian caucus in the US had failed in its "advocacy" of India in general and West Bengal in particular. He said the delegation would carry the message of West Bengal and the business potential here to investors in the US and promised to bring them here.

Speaking to newspersons later, he said the controversy in the US over outsourcing would be a "big issue" in an election year but the problem was "short-term" and would be resolved in the longer-term.

In his address, Mr Smith said that, consequent to the establishment of the sister-sister relationship with Beijing, about 200 US companies have established presence in China. The idea was to offer products and services that would be in demand in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In this context, he said that the laws in China were in tune with those in the US, which promote free enterprise. India, too, would have to be perceived to be in favour of free enterprise if it were to attract investments from the US.

Earlier, the chamber President, Mr Vikram Thapar, said more than half the top 500 companies in the world outsource work to India. As a result of these outsourcing operations, India earned revenue of $6.9 million in the last three quarters of 2002 from software and services exports.

Mr Thapar said the economic trends in the eastern region were "unparalleled and hold a promise of exciting business opportunities in the future."

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