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Clinton's historic visit to India set to boost business

BOMBAY: U.S. President Bill Clinton's historic visit to India last week has created an environment which is set to boost long-term business between the two nations, former U.S. envoy to India Frank Wisner said on Sunday.

"In the President's visit, a number of structures were created of consultations between the two governments in a variety of fields, in trade and general economic activities, in environment and energy," Wisner told Reuters in an interview.

"All of those have to be filled out by actions," he said.

The U.S. is the largest investor in India and also its biggest trade partner. Trade between the two countries was worth $12.79 billion in 1999.

U.S. investments in India accounted for 25 percent of all foreign direct investments approved from 1991 to September 1999.

Clinton's visit is the first by a U.S. president for over two decades.

Wisner said the tour had opened up a new chapter of relations between the two countries.

"The President did not set out practical business goals, but a vision challenging thinking with Indians about where your great country will go, and indicating to Americans the opportunity available to us to work with the new and growing India," he said.

U.S. companies signed projects worth some $4 billion with Indian firms during Clinton's visit while the U.S. Export-Import Bank will make available some $1 billion of trade financing to small and medium sized businesses in India.

"You have caught the attention of Americans," Wisner said.

"The more the Indian government does to put fresh positive news on the page will mean that there will be a much greater receptivity to them."

He said this comprises business policy initiatives to remove obstacles in the development of power and transport and to deepen and broaden capital markets.

"What the President's visit does in core is to create a climate of confidence and trust," Wisner, the vice chairman (external affairs) of American International group AIG.N said.

India and the U.S. last week set up a co-ordinating group to work towards greater undestanding on economic issues and increase trade and investments between both democracies.

"The level of U.S. investment in India, while we are the largest investor is still very, very low. Therefore, the growth potential is huge," Wisner said.

"India needs hundreds of billions of dollars in the years ahead, just in infrastructure not to mention needs of information technology or the older economy," he said

The U.S. accounted for some 58 percent of India's booming software exports of $2.65 billion in 1998/99 (April-March).

Software and allied services exports are growing at an annual clip of 50 percent and forecast to hit $50 billion by 2008.-Reuters