The United States, on Thursday warned that the Enron debacle would dampen flow of foreign investments into India and asked New Delhi to find a prompt resolution to the issue. "While it is not my intention to make specific suggestions for resolving this dispute, I do want to underscore that it will be hard for foreign investors to look seriously at India until this dispute is resolved in a satisfactory way. "I encourage the Central Government and the Indian business community to do everything they can to bring about a prompt resolution," US Undersecretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs, Alan Larson said at the US-India Business Council meet on Wednesday.
"Speaking frankly, the investment dispute between the Dabhol Power Company and Maharashtra State is now casting a cloud over India's investment climate," he said. Summarizing two days of intensive discussions and debates, the Council said, "The dispute over the Dabhol Power Project erodes the credibility of the Indian government, may soften India's credit rating, and deters all other kinds of investment."
"This issue needs to be resolved, and it needs to be resolved quickly," Frank Wisner, Chairman of the Council and a former Ambassador to India, said. Bureau Report