ID :
239113
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 15:09
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India's West Bengal to be partner state of US for investment: State CM

Kolkata, May 7 (PTI) The US today agreed to treat India's West Bengal state as a partner state for investment after a high profile meeting between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee here. "As per partner state, they will invest in West Bengal which was not taking place due to the political situation in the past", Banerjee told reporters after a meeting with Clinton at the Writers' Building, which began with a handshake and a namaste. Clinton dressed in a blue suit and Banerjee in her trademark white sari with blue border and chappals, both declared among the 100 most influential persons globally by Time Magazine, held talks for 52 minutes. "A few states of USA will be partners for development in West Bengal", she quoted Clinton as assuring her. She said that the areas identified for US investment were IT, transfer of technology, the software sector, manufacturing, deep sea port, tourism, health care and education. "They will give full support for economic and business development. They saw many new opportunities in the state and promised all help for development and said there was a lot of scope for employment generation in West Bengal", Banerjee said. She said that a committee comprising State Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh and US Ambassador in India Nancy Powell has been formed for continuous coordination and monitoring of progress of projects, which could also be taken up in PPP mode. The chief minister said "We are facing a USD 40 million debt condition which we have stated we will overcome." Clinton welcomed the political change in the state after 34 years. "She congratulated us. She said she knew about my struggle and the way we have won (the elections). Earlier, there was little US investment here", Banerjee said and, in an apparent dig at the Left which ruled the state from 1977 to 2011, she asked them to cease politicking over the US gesture. Taking pride in Clinton's visit, she said, "this is a matter of pride that a US Secretary of State has come and talked to us here for the first time after Independence." The chief minister, however, said that the issues of Teesta water-sharing agreement with Bangladesh and opening up of FDI in retail sector did not figure in the discussion nor outsourcing. "Let me tell you very clearly. Teesta? No. FDI? No. They did not raise it nor was it discussed. Only development issues were discussed", she said to persistent questions. Banerjee said she sought Clinton's cooperation to hold a world youth festival to commemorate Swami Vivekananda's 1883 address at the Chicago world religions congress where he had addressed the gathering as 'brothers and sisters of America'. "She told me that she will speak to the Mayor of Chicago and let me know", Banerjee said. The chief minister presented Clinton a scarf from Santiniketan, an English translation of Tagore's Gitanjali, a copy of Gitabitan, the collected works of Swami Vivekananda and a book on Sri Ramakrishna brought out by the Belur Math. PTI

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