‘As the Prime Minister, it’s my privilege to sell India abroad’

Referring to his meeting with US CEOs at the New York Stock Exchange, Singh said: ‘‘I saw in it an opportunity to emphasise India’s credentials as a very attractive investment destination.’’ And added that he proposed they establish a group to recommend steps to be taken to achieve $10-billion FDI inflows every year. Singh rejected speculation on differences over his reforms pitch within his own party as well as in the Left, saying that he had met CPM leaders Jyoti Basu, Surjeet and Yechury before he left for this trip and had told them that he would tell the world community that India needs FDI for economic growth. Singh said that for a possible resolution of the Kashmir dispute, India would be ‘‘willing to look at all options, all the pros and cons, with an open mind.’’ He said he had agreed to take the bilateral dialogue to ‘‘the next stage’’ where both sides would present these options.

With the two leaders seemingly able to establish a good rapport, Musharraf told Singh that he was a much ‘‘misunderstood’’ man in India while Manmohan Singh pointed out that an end to terrorism was a ‘‘precondition for dialogue.’’ The length of time the PM spent with the President in a suite alone at the Roosevelt hotel seemed to have made some members somewhat uncomfortable. At one point, J N Dixit went to the room to see how the two were getting on, sources said. But the PM is believed to have told him that he would ‘‘send a message’’ when he and the General were done. At their first encounter, both were relaxed enough to recite poetry to each other. So when the PM asked the General to read the text of the statement to the press—since it was the Pakistani side that had brought the draft with them—Musharraf reacted like someone who was ‘‘honoured’’ to do so. ‘‘It was a very frank conversation, with an easy flow, with never a dull moment. He spoke very sincerely and told me that he was grossly misunderstood in India,’’ the PM said, adding that the President also rejected the charge that he was a ‘‘unifocal person.’’