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Festive end to Vajpayee's Italy visit

Y Siva Sankar in Rome

The two-day multi-disciplinary visit of the Indian government to Italy ended on a high and festive note today in Rome.

Hundreds of members of the Indian diaspora in Europe made it a point to attend the reception hosted at the Hilton hotel by India's ambassador to Italy, K P Fabian, in honour of Prime Minister A B Vajpayee.

Women turned out in traditional colourful attire like Kanjeevaram silk sarees, salwar kameez and churidaars.

Among those who vied to greet the prime minister at the reception were cardinals of Indian extraction, religious figures, corporate India's crème de la crème, officials from foreign missions in Rome and the Vatican and their family members and mediapersons.

Tour observers reckoned that the "goodwill mission" may not have yielded spectacular results on the diplomatic, economic and political fronts, but added that the visit was a "success from within".

"Never has corporate India turned out in such large numbers abroad in support of the government policies as it has done this time," a top government official told this correspondent.

Among the industry and business stalwarts who made it to Rome, to complement the Indian government's efforts at highlighting the opportunities in India's new economy, were ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar, Duncan's chairman Gauri Pradad Goenka, UTI chairman P S Subramanyam, IDBI chairman G P Gupta, Piramal Enterprises chairman Ajay Piramal, former FICCI president Sudhir Jalan, Pepsico India chairman P M Sinha, NASSCOM president Dewang Mehta, Bharti Telecom chairman Sunil Mittal, S Kumar's managing director M Kasliwal, Essar group chairman Shashi Ruia.

Italian businessmen interacted with Indian government officials and corporate czars at a FICCI-organised business seminar. By and large, they seemed inclined to adopt a wait-and-watch policy, without committing themselves to big investments in India. A sign of this was the Italian information technology industry's decision to offer a notional 1,000 jobs to trained Indian professionals, a point which was not lost on Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.

Italy's aviation major Alitalia's top executives said they are watching closely the divestment-related developments in Air-India. Luminaries from Italy's food-processing industry said "India holds a lot of promise".

A few Italian business bigwigs said they are keen on foraying into the banking sector in India, "but the 20 per cent cap on foreign equity is not a encouraging sign".

This, however, did not pressure the government into conceding "unreasonable concessions". Allowing himself some rare plain-talking, Sinha hinted that the days of the Indian government bending over backwards to please prospective foreign investors are over. "There is no question of a rethink (on the percentage of foreign equity in private banks in India). I've explained to them our policy and within that policy they have to come (to India) like companies from other countries," Sinha told rediff.com.

It was not as if Sinha deposited himself on a high pedestal. He told this correspondent that he does understand the concerns of foreign investors in general and Italian businesspeople in particular.

"Their major concern to my mind is the impression that there are delays, hassles in India, but as I explained to them, all these things have changed in the last few months. And, therefore, it is not true anymore because this (most of the foreign investment proposals) has been put on the automatic (clearance) route." Sinha was seen assuring a prospective Italian investor -- the latter is keen on launching a water-heater business in India -- that there would not be any procedural problems in future.

Some of the businessmen of Indian extraction in Italy said India should not get euphoric over the promise shown by the new economy sectors. "Italy's strengths in the vehicle industry are well-known. The focus seems to be on automobile industry but the two-wheeler segment offers scope for immense business. The growth in this segment would outpace that of the car industry. Millions of Indians would buy two-wheelers in future because new technologies that are being developed here would lower the prices to unheard-of levels. The sooner India recognises this the better," said an Indian businessman based in Rome for the last 50 years.

Earlier in the day, Vajpayee, in his meeting with the Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, discussed, at the instance of the latter, the recent attacks on Christians in India and assured him that all efforts are being made to prevent such incidents in future. A source at the Vatican media said, "The staff of His Holiness is constantly monitoring the situation in India. News of the recent demise of Delhi's archbishop too caused pain in the Vatican."

Indian officials ruled out any negative impact on potential Italian investments in India because of attacks on Christians. "The colour of money is different. Religion and business do not mix though there may be an indirect correlation," a source in the external affairs ministry told rediff.com.

As the day progressed, Vajpayee met Italy's President Carlo Ciampi and Prime Minister Guilano Amato. He held wide-ranging talks, some on bilateral trade, the rest on cooperation between India and the European Union,

India's largest trading partner, Italy is an important member of the EU and its designated leader from 2001.

Amato said Italy understands India's significance in the emerging markets and the unease in India's neighbourhood (Pakistan and Afghanistan). He said Italy appreciates the fact that there is scope for intensification of cooperation in food-processing and infotech segments.

Vajpayee oversaw the launch of bilateral initiatives to boost tourism and civil aviation finance.

Officials from the Prime Minister's Office told rediff.com that the high point of the visit to Italy is the renewal of the existing friendly bilateral ties in a cordial atmosphere, and expression of resolve by the two governments to strengthen the ties for further mutual advantage.

Would Italy articulate, support and safeguard India's interests when the EU frames its foreign policies? Brajesh Mishra, India's national security advisor and principal secretary to Vajpayee, told this correspondent that the EU frames its policies on the basis of consensus among the 15 member-states, one of which is Italy. "So a policy decision of the EU incorporates Italy's stance. Member-states do not seek such an individual role."

From Rome, the Vajpayee-led Indian team will proceed to Lisbon, Portugal, on June 27 for the first-ever Indo-EU summit on June 28. Bilateral talks are also in the schedule for the three-day second leg of the Europe visit.

Portugal is the leader of the EU. Its relations with India date back the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama who discovered Goa, and the subsequent colonalisation of strips like Goa, Daman and Diu. Officials said there is a "sizable" Indian community in Portugal.

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