President Invites Norwegian Investment In India's Infrastructure

OSLO: Visiting Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has invited Norwegian businessmen to invest in India and to participate in “India’s growth story”.

In a speech at a banquet on his honour by King Harald V and Queen Sonja, Mr. Mukherjee said business sentiments in India were “positive and strong” and the new government was taking a number of measures to “encourage investments, revive the manufacturing sector in India, promote skill development, develop smart cities and engage closely with all interested partners and investors in India and abroad” to make this happen.

He said the government invited investors and entrepreneurs from Norway, an oil and gas-rich nation with one of the world’s highest per capita incomes, to explore possibilities of investment in India’s infrastructure sector.

“We welcome foreign direct investments in our railways, roads and ports, power and communications sectors; we invite Norwegian companies to join Indian counterparts in the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the new government and we are presently simplifying the procedures to facilitate their participation in India’s growth story,” said the President who is making the first state visit from India to Norway.

He said India welcomed the ‘India Strategy’ launched in 2009 by Norway and looked forward to new partnerships and collaborations in areas of common interest.

Mr. Mukherjee also lauded Norway’s role in the “recognition of exceptional human endeavour”, particularly through the institution of the Nobel Peace Prize, and said it was an “outstanding example of the lead taken by you in advancement of human and civilisational values”.

The prize, announced last week in Oslo by the Nobel Prize committee, jointly awarded the peace prize to Kailash Satyarthi of India and Malala Yousufzai of Pakistan, both activists for the cause of children.

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