Monday, April 24 2006 09:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hannover (Germany): Emphasising that India was at the 'cusp of a historic transformation', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday (Apr 23, 2006) invited increased foreign investment pointing out that the country had ventured on a series of programmes to improve infrastructure which will require about 150 billion US dollars over the next decade.

Inaugurating the Hannover Trade Fair in which India is a partner country, he complained that visa and other regulations in Germany posed a hindrance in the further growth of economic cooperation between the two countries and stressed the need for addressing these issues.

"India and Germany have great opportunities to work together... To make our economic cooperation more robust, we need to address barriers to trade and investment," Singh said in presence of Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He said some Indian companies have faced visa and work permit problems in Germany and pointed out that employment and taxation laws also pose problems as do environment and labour standards.

About the liberalisation process in India, he said the country is at the 'cusp of a historic transformation and the reform process will be gaining speed.

"Today, we have a new vision for India as an active participant in the increasingly integrated global economy," Singh told the gathering of business leaders from Germany and some other countries.