Miller woos Indian IT firms to set shop in Poland

Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller has urged the Indian IT and biotech industries to start looking towards East Europe and set shop in Poland, which has opened up the high technology sectors for foreign direct investments.

Addressing the captains of industry, especially those from the IT and bio-tech sectors at a luncheon meeting, organised by the Confederation of India Industry in Bangalore on Tuesday, Miller said the Polish government provided favorable conditions for direct foreign investments with stable and transparent legal regulations.

"We count on modern technologies such as IT, biotechnology, telecommunications, and high-tech materials for increasing our trade and economic cooperation with India," Miller said.

Assuring all-out support to Indian investors in new technologies leading to the creation of additional jobs in Poland, Miller said his government would be setting up an institution of ombudsman representing foreign investors to tackle any difficulties coming in the way of investing in his country.

"We are aware that there are some factors in Poland, which weaken the enthusiasm of foreign investors. These difficulties are the legacy of a centrally planned economy, which prevailed in our country over the last five decades.

We are working hard on further changes. The Polish ministry of economy, labor, and social policy is working on those factors that hamper overseas' investment in Poland," Miller claimed.

Lauding the remarkable progress made by the Indian IT industry, especially its software sector, Miller said he made it a point to include Bangalore in his 3-day visit to India to acknowledge the strides made by its IT firms and demonstrate his commitment to build bridges with the Indian global IT majors such as Infosys and Wipro Technologies.

"Bangalore is a temple of modern India, and the country's IT prowess is comparable to that of the Silicon Valley in the US. I am eager to compare the progress made by India in its IT sector with the Silicon Valley.

"That is why I have purposely included Bangalore as one of my destinations during my first visit to India," Miller stated in his inaugural remarks.

"This is my first to Asia and to include India is an obligation for me. I want to see how a democratic

polity with more than a billion people has been working smoothly for over five decades," Miller added.

Referring to Poland's imminent accession to the European Union with effect from May 2004, Miller said such a positive step would impact the acceleration of the Polish economy and create incentives to investors.

"I would like investors from Karnataka to take the best advantage of these opportunities and set shop in Poland in IT and biotech sectors. Our ensuing accession to the European Union will activate our presence in Eastern Europe markets," Miller disclosed.

Expressing concern over the low level of trade turnover ($250 million) with India, Miller said the burgeoning Polish market was not only open to traditional Indian goods such as tea, coffee, textiles, but also to computer software, electro-technical products, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.

During his one-day visit to Bangalore, Miller is visiting Infosys campus, the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd complex, and the India Space Research Organisation for a first hand account of the achievements made by these organisations in IT software, aeronautics and space technologies.

Miller is leading a high-level delegation, including secretary of state Tadeusz Iwanski, Cabinet chief Alexandra Jakubowska, Vice-Minister of Defence Janusz Zimke and 18 Polish businessmen.

Interestingly, India and Poland began liberalising their economies and foreign trade around the same time in the early 1990s.

The present level of economic cooperation, however, does not reflect the trade potential of the two countries.

The two-way trade between India and Poland is currently about $300 million annually, with the balance in favor of India. Up to September 2002, India had $108 million in its favor.

To offset the surplus, Poland tries to compensate with defence deals, particularly in the radar and signal sectors, along with other small arms and ammunition.

With the Indian defence sector thrown open to the private sector, including 26 per cent foreign equity participation, many Polish firms are keen to partner with Indian companies in defence production.

Of the total foreign investment of $61 billion in Poland, Indians have so far invested just around $1.5 million over the years.