US diplomat pats Bengal as knowledge hub
Fri, 06/17/2011 - 16:17
Kolkata, June 17 (IBNS):US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O Blake Jr on Friday stressed on the importance of the role of East India, especially West Bengal in maintaining a strongly flourishing US-India partnership.
He said, “America’s future will rest on the power of our knowledge, ideas, and economy. In this context, we see no better partner than India, and in India, West Bengal’s legacy as an academic and cultural fulcrum makes this state a pivotal part of our partnership."
Speaking at a CII function here, Blake said Kolkata and West Bengal have a legacy of producing brilliant minds, a trend he hopes will continue into the future.
Blake remarked, “There are of course many well-known Calcuttans who’ve made an indelible mark on humanity, from the great Nobel Prize-winning economist and ethicist Amartya Sen, to the Oscar-winning Satyajit Ray, to the prize-winning writer Amitav Ghosh, and of course the humanitarian and Nobel laureate Mother Teresa.”
He also stated that he felt deeply moved by Kolkata, “a city on the move”, which is yet to realise a monumental potential for growth and prosperity.
He, however, expressed his confidence in the business environment by saying, “The almost-completed, gleaming new airport, the many flyovers, and other impressive infrastructure projects here, reaffirms for me that Kolkata remains a global hub.”
“Increasingly, these solutions will be applicable not just to India or the U.S., but to the world at large. Kolkata’s historical position as a gateway of Asia will help disseminate those breakthroughs to Bangladesh and Southeast Asia,” he said.
Blake informed the audience about “some of the ways that U.S.-India economic and business ties have been fostered, in a context unique to West Bengal. “
He referred to the highly successful venture of “PepsiCo's Frito-Lay food processing plant just outside of Kolkata” which expanded “to become the company’s largest food processing facility in Asia.”
He also talked about the mutually beneficial collaboration of Coal India, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation and other Indian companies that have become the emblem of positive symbiotic partnerships between Eastern India and the US.
On being queried about accelerated future US investment as well as increased involvement of US universities with the state, Blake stated that the responsibility lies with the state government to create a feasible environment as Kolkata is competing with not only India but the rest of the world. He encouraged active participation to draw support from the US.
He also encouraged budding entrepreneurs of the state by saying, “Through strong bilateral ties and even closer people to people bonds, I assure you that the best is yet to come in U.S.-India trade and commercial relations.”
(Reporting by Arnab Chakraborty)
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