The 15-member US business delegation currently touring the city has among others Daniel Christman, senior VP of US Chamber of Commerce, and Ron Somers, the erstwhile chief of Unocal India (which is now a Chevron subsidiary) and currently president of US India Business Council (USIBC), heading the team.
After meeting CM this afternoon, Somers appears bullish and effusive on TV about US business prospect in Bengal. He pointedly promises that another business team from US will soon come to Kolkata to explore investments in the state.
All these are certainly good news for the beleaguered state that is throwing open all options to let investments flow in. The US delegation has invited (I prefer using the word ‘urged’) CM to come to US, and in Somers’ words his visit will clear the minds of US businesses interested to come calling.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on his part however is categorical. He says he would surely go but his agenda is to ensure signing 3 agreements while there. These are with Dow Chemicals (presumably for the proposed chemical hub in Haldia/Nandigram), Boeing Company (is Boeing planning more.., its proposed MRO facility is already gathering momentum for Nagpur courtesy civil aviation minister Praful Patel, see my post and yesterday’s BS story), and biotechnology deal with Berkeley University.
So far so good. However, whether CM’s resolve bears fruits for Bengal is something that warrants keen watching.
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