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A. Roy Chowdhury

The US Treasury Secretary, Mr Henry M. Paulson Jr, and the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the Writer’s Building on Sunday in Kolkata. —

Our Bureau

Kolkata, Oct. 28 The US Treasury Secretary, Mr Henry M. Paulson, Jr, has praised the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, for the latter’s efforts to encourage big ticket investments in West Bengal. He has also said that the nuclear deal was “very good, useful and will help India”.

Speaking to newspersons after a meeting with recipients of Smartcards in Kolkata, Mr Paulson described the Chief Minister as an “economic reformer” who was “doing his best” to bring in investments to the region.

“We in our country think it is very good, useful and will help India”. This was especially important since energy security was imperative for economic growth, he added.

Earlier in the day, Mr Paulson held a meeting with recipients of Smartcards in Kokata to highlight the importance of financial inclusion and extending the benefits of financial services to a larger number of Indians.

“I just participated in a private sector initiative to bring financial services directly to people in rural India. I commend Financial Information Network & Operations, ICICI Bank and Grameen Sanchar Society for their valuable work in bringing financial service tools to people, enabling them to join the economic mainstream. Technology plays an important role here and we saw that first hand today”, a statement issued by him later said.

At noon, Mr Paulson had a 45-minute meeting with Mr Bhattacharjee at Writers’ Building, the state administrative headquarters. No official briefing was held to convey what transpired between the two leaders.

Later, Mr Paulson had lunch in the city before leaving for Mumbai.

More Stories on : Financial Services | Rural Development | West Bengal

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US Treasury Secretary Paulson pats Buddhadeb’s investment pitch

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