The Hindu Business Line : Manmohan's UN address to touch economic matters

IT is not going to be all politics and security issues when the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, comes to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly and meet world leaders on the sidelines of the 59th session.

In fact, what officials are pointing to here is that Dr Singh will have a fair share of economics to talk about, not just at the macro levels but in actively pursuing India's specific interests as it pertains to trade and investments, particularly from an American point of view. And he is no stranger in this field by any stretch of imagination.

The Prime Minister will be touching on economic matters and issues at almost every meeting he is scheduled to have with world leaders, the interviews planned as also in the interactions with top business leaders over the next five days or so.

Dr Singh, for example is scheduled to visit the New York Stock Exchange and then get into a session with top American CEOs.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to have a meeting with Indian-American CEOs. And in his addresses to the United Nations General Assembly and to the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr Singh will be talking about the challenges of the international economic system, especially as it pertains to the developing world, it is being said here.

Officials stress that it is not going to be all about speech making on the part of the Indian leader.

Rather that it will a listening session as well with the top captains of business houses. For his part, Dr Singh is expected to the convey the directions, policies and approaches of the new Government and in the process making the point that there will not only be continuity but that what is being attempted and put in place is more broad-based.

From an American point of view, it would be reassuring to the CEOs assembled in separate sessions to heard first hand from Dr Singh of what could be expected from India and under what parameters.

And the Indian leader will also come to hear of the concerns and apprehensions — real or otherwise — of doing business in India under a changed political environment.

Privately and in public formulations the question that keeps coming up is why the American profile is high elsewhere but not in India, particularly in the context of the entrenched strengths of India. This is especially stark when it comes to American foreign direct investment. What has also attracted attention is that the profile of the US in India is "low" even if American companies in India may be doing "reasonably well" in terms of returns or profit margins.

The overall feeling is that Dr Singh will be getting some substantive feedback from the interaction with the CEOs and this will most certainly be one of the positive outcomes of his visit to New York.