Govt to attract infra funds from Arab countries

New Delhi: Bullish on bilateral cooperation in infrastructure projects, India will take a delegation to Saudi Arabia in May that would be headed by the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The effort would be to attract infrastructure funds for India from the Arab countries, said the Union Minister for External Affairs, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, while addressing the Indo-Arab investment projects conclave organised by the FICCI.

The move to strengthen cooperation between the two regions would be followed by a series of events, including an Indo-Arab Festival and a partnership conference in November and an Arab cultural festival, to be organised by the FICCI here under the Ministry of External Affairs.

Mr Mukherjee said there was enormous scope for Arab investment in India in diverse areas such as IT, telecom, auto parts, healthcare, biotechnology, food-processing, education, manufacturing, construction and banking services. “However, the most important opening for the future is the chance to invest capital on one side to combine virtuously with the capacity and experience on the other side,” he said.

“The Arab nations are not only flush with funds but also have a massive capacity to invest in building India’s infrastructure,” said the FICCI Senior Vice-President, Mr Harsh Pati Singhania.

Mr Salman Sulieman Al Safi, State Minister for Investment, Republic of Sudan, invited Indian investment in Sudan’s mining and fisheries sectors, apart from scaling up investments in the oil and gas sector.