The Hindu Business Line : I'm the honorary ambassador of India: Mittal

While Mr Mittal himself proclaimed to a packed house that he was "the honorary ambassador of India", the Petroleum Secretary and ONGC Chairman who shared the dais with him at a OMEL press conference, referred to him and accompanying son Aditya as the "celebrities".

Thanks India

Transforming what would otherwise have been a routine press meet, the father and son duo began with thanking the country for its support during the rough and tough negotiations, from which they had emerged victorious. Mr Mittal emphasised that the backing he received from the Indian Government was not specific to the deal, but was in a larger context of the country extending support to the aspirations of Indian businessmen. "If the deal had not succeeded, it would have been a set back for Indian businessmen," he said.

Investment Plans

After announcing major investments in the country and detailing some of Arcelor Mittal's plans for the future, Mr Mittal commented on the changing global scenario and how Indian business was getting increasingly involved in cross country participation and acquisitions. He felt India needed to forge even closer relations with European Union countries. "I keep meeting the heads of these countries and I am the ambassador for India in all these countries," he said, backing his Indian identity by replying to some questions in fluent Hindi.

Every time a question came up about future acquisitions in India, Mr Mittal looked with amusement at his son and left the floor for him to take over. Aditya assured the press that "there would be no (acquisition) fireworks this year", attributing it to a lack of choice in the Indian steel sector. Regarding the Tata's upping their stake in Tata Steel just before Mr Mittal's visit here, the junior Mittal dismissed the development with a smile.

To a query on whether Mr Mittal was going to follow the philanthropic gestures of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, the tycoon said: "I'm still very young. Let me work a few years and then I'll think of it."

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I'm the honorary ambassador of India: Mittal