Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Calling for better regulation to check economic imbalances and reform of international financial institutions, India made a strong pitch Wednesday to woo foreign investment from Gulf countries.
“India is a more attractive destination for such investments than other places in the world,” Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said at a two-day India-Arab Economic Summit here.

Alluding to around $3-4 trillion disposable revenues with the Gulf countries, amounting to more than half the global sovereign wealth funds, Tharoor said some investments had already started coming but it is “far less than the potential particularly in the FDI segment”.

“India has received FDI from GCC countries amounting to $1.59 billion in 2009,” he said. “The 4.5 million Indians in GCC countries transfer about $30 billion in remittances to India annually. So the difference is apparent.”

The conference, ‘Beyond the Meltdown: Search for Options,’ has been organised by the Indo-Arab Economic Cooperation Forum and Institute of Objective Studies.

Referring to the second India-Arab Investment Conclave here Feb 8-9, Tharoor said the meet, in which ministers and business delegations from the Gulf and Arab countries will participate, will focus on projects valued at $10-11 billion.

Bilateral trade between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has crossed $100 billion in 2009 making GCC, as a bloc, India’s largest trading partner. Trade between India and the Arab world exceeded $110 billion in 2009.

Tharoor also stressed the urgent need to develop a better system of surveillance and regulation to detect early signs of systemic financial and economic imbalances and address them effectively in a timely manner.

“There should be a better and more transparent regulatory mechanism for banks, financial institutions and capital markets as well as a stronger voice for developing countries,” he said.

These reforms would also help in a more effective and less market-driven approach to raise the economic standards of the poorer sections of the international community, he said.