Kolkata: US Ambassador Nancy Powell is all set to meet Mamata, keeping its business interest in mind. In recent years, almost all top American brands from Pepsi, Coke and McDonalds to General Motors, Boeing to Microsoft are well- entrenched into the Indian economy that is set to only grow in terms of the consumption story of its young population.
The meeting is interpreted as a move to smoothen its way for investment in the state, especially when the nation is heading to the general elections, promising a possible shift of power. “Probably either on 20 or 21 February, the meeting is proposed, the state government has sent a request to the Union government for clearance,†said a top state government official.
Ms Powell’s wish to meet Miss Banerjee ahead of the Lok Sabha polls due in May has led to speculation. She had met Miss Banerjee, the Trinamul Congress chief, in September 2012 and discussed possible US investments among other matters. In May the same year, the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had met Banerjee.
The US desire to placate BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is viewed more of diplomatic stuff than geo-political one.
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