On her first visit to Syria, Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil sat down with Forward Magazine to discuss future economic partnership and how the "Indian Model" can attract foreign investment in Syria.

Madame President, let us start off with Syrian-Indian relations. Back in July 1957 India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Damascus, establishing a bilateral relationship with Syria that is still solid 53-years down the road. What brings you to Damascus now, how do you rate your relationship with Syria's leaders, and what are your impressions of the country?
I agree with you that India-Syria relations are solid and have reached new heights in the last 10 years during which foundations were laid by leaders from both sides, particularly the visionary leader and the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. This should be considered against a backdrop of over 4000 years of contact between the two countries. During President Assad's visit in June 2008, several decisions were made that gave a new economic focus to bilateral relations. I am visiting Syria to carry forward this process. Our relations with the top leadership of Syria are excellent. I had a cordial dialogue with President Assad yesterday and we bothagreed that we should work to further strengthen relations through strong economic underpinning. President Assad is a forward-looking and warm person, committed to improving the welfare of his citizens. He is keen to understand India’s experiences and to assess their relevance to Syrian conditions. I have heard so much about Syria and have been keen to visit People of Syria are warm and friendly. Both our countries are committed to similar values and despite hosting many religions have remained steadfastly secular. There is a lot that could be done by India and Syria together.

There is plenty to be done in today’s world, in terms of political and economic cooperation. Let us start with politics: Syria and India were both founding members of the United Nations, for which India is now seeking a permanent seat on the Security Council. How can this seat help Syria and the Middle East at large?
India and Syria have worked closely over the last six decades with the UN and other international forums. India will become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2011. We thank Syria and other members of the United Nations for the trust in us. The membership confers a responsibility on us that we need to exercise on behalf of the entire membership of the United Nations.

We will work constructively and objectively and are committed to remaining fully and actively engaged in all issues before the Council. We will actively support all efforts at early peaceful and comprehensive resolution of the Middle-East issues, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and Land for Peace principle. We support the early and full return of the occupied Golan Heights to Syria.

In 2008, there was plenty of talk about cooperation in transportation, electricity, industry, IT, and housing, between Syria and India. That is in addition to economic partnership in oil and gas production, biotechnology, agriculture and education. What is the map for bilateral relations in the years to come, especially in the economic field?
Since President Assad's 2008 visit, economic relations have reached a new level. BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) is involved in the power sector. We have expressed interest in the fertilizer sector and signed a MOU on cooperation in this area. An Indian company, MECON has nearly completed the feasibility study on utilization of phosphatic resources of Syria. An IT Centre for Excellence, a project of India-Syria cooperation, will start functioning soon in Damascus. Indian companies are involved in the petroleum sector, organic products, etc also. This process needs to be carried forward and strengthened in the coming years. In our assessment, the sectors that offer maximum potential for mutually advantageous cooperation now are phosphatic fertilizers and tourism. A large business delegation is accompanying me and they have held talks with their Syrian counterparts on business opportunities in the two countries. I am hopeful that this would lead to long-term engagement between us. The commitment of India and Syria for economic liberalization and accelerated economic development offers enormous possibilities for cooperation.

Indian economists expected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to increase from 8% to 18% over the next five years, pushing India to the fourth rank internationally in attracting FDI, surpassing Great Britain, Germany, and France. India is also expected to surpass the United States in industrial investment, seconded only by China. Impressive, no doubt, and something I am sure could work wonders for Syria if the “India model” is copied in the Arab world. Is this achievable, Madam President?
FDI flows into India have no doubt gone up but this needs to be seen in the context of the size of our economy. In the last two years Syria has also been able to attract over $1.4 billion FDI. This would mean that in per capita terms, Syria attracts more FDI than what India does. Basic laws of economics determine FDI flows also. An investor is always exploring for investment opportunities, evaluates options on various considerations like ease of operations, fiscal conditions and incentives, operating environment, market, likely return, etc. The growth in FDI in Syria is a result of the economic reforms programme to which President Assad is committed. There is no single model that would be applicable universally. Some basic elements may be common to most models, but the model would need to be tailored to meet the local conditions and requirements. With the ongoing economic reforms programme in Syria, I suppose that Syria would be able to attract higher levels of foreign investment flows.

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• Sam Dalla: Was the Chinese model that good?

• Assad appoints a 29-member Constitutional Committee, for a new constitution by next February
• Sam Dalla: Was the Chinese model that good?

• Assad appoints a 29-member Constitutional Committee, for a new constitution by next February
• Sam Dalla: Was the Chinese model that good?