Prime Minister Vajpayee’s opening remarks at the meeting with Indian American entrepreneurs

Blair House, Washington, D.C.
September 16, 20000

I am very happy to meet you all here today.

I have had the pleasure of meeting several of you in Delhi. I have benefited from my interaction with you.

I regret that I could not come to the West Coast.

I thank you for taking time out to come to the East Coast for this meeting.

A famous writer once wrote, "East is East and West is West, and the Twain Can't Meet".

You, Indian-American entrepreneurs, have shown with your successes in Information Technology that East and West can not only meet, but they will meet on equal terms!

You have truly done India proud.

Your success stories have had a positive impact both in America and in India.

In America, you have helped change the image of India in the American mind.   

In India, you have inspired tens of thousands of young Indians to achieve similar successes in IT.

I am amazed by the activities of the TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Group. I congratulate you for your vision of bringing the glory of the Indus Valley civilization back to India.

You know the many initiatives our Government has taken to promote IT and telecom.

We welcome your suggestions and ideas for carrying these efforts forward.

Our dream is to create world-class conditions and facilities in India, so that talented Indians can achieve the same success while living and working in India as they do when they come to the United States.

Already, Bangalore is being described as the Silicon Valley of the East.

But we want many Bangalores to bloom in India. Indeed, many centres of IT are coming up very fast.

I would like to especially congratulate the community of Indian American IT entrepreneurs for the spirit of philanthropy you have demonstrated in recent years.

The GIST initiative, the IIT initiative, and other such efforts are all highly commendable.

These, too, I am sure, will inspire businessmen and professionals back home.

I assure you that our Government would assist you in every possible way in your patriotic desire to contribute to India's rapid and all-round development.

Thank you.