The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today visited Masdar City, a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, which relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources.
At a roundtable meeting with business leaders at Masdar city, the Prime Minister made a strong pitch for investment in India, saying that an immediate potential of one trillion dollars worth of investment existed in the country. He said India now had a decisive Government with full majority, and several sectors including insurance, railways, defence manufacturing have been opened up for foreign investment. He touched upon renewable energy, port-led development and low-cost housing as sectors with huge investment potential.
The Prime Minister described India as a land of opportunity. He said 125 crore Indians should be looked upon not just as a market, but also a great power. He said major agencies including IMF and World Bank were in agreement that India is now the fastest growing major economy in the world, with immense possibilities of development.
The Prime Minister said that many people were describing the 21st century as Asia's century. He said that if India and UAE work together, they can make this vision of the Asian century a reality. He said UAE would be at the economic focus of the Asian century.
The Prime Minister said he would try his best to resolve all outstanding issues in the economic sphere.
Earlier, the Prime Minister was accompanied on an hour-long visit of Masdar City, by senior City officials, who briefed him on various aspects of the project.
The Prime Minister travelled briefly on the PRT (Personnel Rapid Transit) car - a driver-less vehicle which runs from point to point on magnetic strips.
The Prime Minister visited the Micro-Nano Fabrication Facility and the Microscopy Lab. The Prime Minister also took a brief walking tour of the city's public spaces and was briefed on the sustainable building methodology and key architectural elements.
Throughout the hour-long tour of Masdar City, the Prime Minister was greeted enthusiastically and repeatedly, by residents and professionals in the city, which include a large number of members from the Indian community.
"Vigyan Jeevan Hai" the Prime Minister wrote, as he signed on a Digital Visitor's Book at Masdar City.
