Pallone to woo Indian firms to invest in US

Tuesday, 06 January 2004, 20:30 IST
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WASHINGTON: Leading Congressman Frank Pallone begins a weeklong visit to India Tuesday in a bid to identify opportunities for Indian companies to invest in the US, especially his constituency New Jersey. Pallone, co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, will visit Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bhopal, where he will interact with victims of the gas leakage tragedy of December 3, 1984, in which thousands died. Pallone, Democrat from New Jersey, will also seek to emphasise to business and political leaders the importance of viewing trade as a two-way street. He plans to visit the headquarters of Ranbaxy pharmaceutical facilities in New Delhi, a company that has invested and created jobs in the US. Describing Ranbaxy as "a leading pharmaceutical company that has expanded worldwide, including the US and in my home state of New Jersey," Pallone said in a statement that as "an Indian company that has invested in the US, worked hard to become one of the top 10 generic drug companies in the US, and created many American jobs, I see them as a guiding force for other Indian companies that are looking to expand." The Congressman joins a New Jersey delegation of the Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce (AICC) on its second business development and trade mission to India. Pallone, who has taken up the cause of the Bhopal tragedy victims with Dow Jones, the present owners of the former Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, will also visit the site of the leakage in Bhopal and meet victims of the disaster. Last October, Pallone joined eight of his House colleagues in filing an amicus brief on behalf of the victims of the chemical disaster. Before leaving on his trip Pallone said: "I am looking forward to participating in what promises to be an opportunity for educational exchange and increased trade and investment between our two nations, the US and India. "My goal is twofold. I would like the delegation to identify opportunities for Indian companies to invest in the US, specifically New Jersey, in an effort to create American jobs. In addition, I plan to advocate for Indian economic reforms that would provide for increased sales of American products in India." Besides this, Pallone is scheduled to meet with officials of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative later this week in New Delhi. MP Kapil Sibal and the co-chair of the Indo-US Parliamentary Forum will join Pallone on the tour. A group of parliamentarians under the leadership of Sibal has been very active on HIV/AIDS in India and visited Washington with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in June to speak to members of Congress about funding for it.
Source: IANS