Washington: There is a "passion" among American businesses to invest in his state, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said, stressing that his government has made necessary policy changes to win the trust of foreign investors.
"I have seen among them a junoon (passion) to invest in Haryana" which surrounds the national capital from three sides, Khattar said on Tuesday.
On his maiden tour of the US, Khattar over the past few days interacted with a number of key business representatives in New York, Maryland, Connecticut and Washington DC with an objective of making Haryana an attractive investment destination for Americans.
"We have made necessary policy changes and are continuing to develop policies and programs to win the trust of foreign investors so that they come and invest in Haryana in a big way. I see a lot of interest and enthusiasm among American investors to invest in Haryana," Khattar said.
"I hope they would come to Haryana and invest there," he said, adding seeking foreign direct investment in the agricultural and agro-based industry sectors would be his priority. Power sector, in particular renewable and solar energy, is other priority area.
Responding to the concerns of foreign investors about a high crime rate in cities like Gurgaon, Khattar said his government has taken steps to address this and now that is a thing of the past. "There is no law and order problem now," he said.
His government, Khattar said is working to create appropriate infrastructural facilities for foreign investors and is now planning to make Haryana a manufacturing hub.
In the evening, Indian Ambassador to the US Arun K Singh hosted a reception for Khattat, who is leading a high-powered delegation comprising of senior officials including Industry Minister Captain Abhimanyu and representatives of the business community.
Khattar said the India-US relationship never has been so good and it is appropriate that the states take the best benefit of it. He said Haryana has a locational advantage because of its proximity to the national capital.
Observing that there is no dearth of work force in Haryana, Khattar said there is need to develop and improvise on the skills of its work force. "There is an enabling environment for investment in his state," he said.
Earlier in the day, Khattar visited the Arlington National Cemetery to pay tributes to late astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who hailed form Haryana.
Captain Abhimanyu said under the new paradigm of diplomacy under the Modi government in centre, states are now engaging on their own with other countries and states.
"The Chief Minister has the vision now to take state's development to the next level, particularly to the manufacturing sector," he said. "We have the right mix of very talented manpower, infrastructure, good law and order and a very facilitating government," he said, adding "Haryana is a state where you can experience red carpet instead of red tapism."
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