The Hindu Business Line : PM visit gives boost to ties with US: India Inc

(Left to right) Mr Ron Somers, President, USIBC; Mr Frank G. Wisner, Vice-Chairman, AIG Ltd; Mr Chip Kaye, Chairman, USIBC and Co-President, Warburg Pincus; and Mr Vikram S. Mehta, Chairman, Shell group; at the luncheon session with the US-India Business Council delegation in the Capital on Monday. - Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Aug. 8

IN the wake of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh's visit to the US, India Inc sees greater opportunities for business collaborations across manufacturing and services sectors between the two countries.

In a session titled `The Prime Minister's Historic Visit to US - What it means to US Business?' organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, Mr Charles "Chip" Kaye, Chairman, US-India Business Council (USIBC) and Co President of Warburg Pincus, said that in the US today businessmen across the spectrum and financial investors are asking the India question. They want to know how they can participate in the India emergence story. As the India story matures there is opportunity for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the growth.

While responding to a question on funding infrastructure development ahead of demand and the signals that the Indian Government needs to send out in this respect, Mr Kaye said, "Resolution of Dabhol was a tremendous start. We all know the challenges. For our part, USIBC will work with CII in the US to revitalise interest. We are confident we can bring the infrastructure developers back to India." That said, there is a role for Government to provide risk capital. The private sector will play a vital role also, as there is need for creative solutions at State level where States are allowed to experiment. Creative States will attract capital, he added.

Mr Frank G. Wisner, former US Ambassador to India said that, "The Indian Prime Minister's visit to the US caught the attention of all Americans because it sent a signal to the businessmen that all was well between the two countries, some barriers were addressed and advances in removing barriers to high technology trade were continued. Moreover, the core of the visit was to create a meaningful economic dialogue by bringing together the heads of the best businessmen of the two countries, with the two governments becoming the enablers for discussion".

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page