Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday said that foreign investment is welcome as it brings in knowledge and best international practices.
"Although external assistance did not amount to a significant percentage of our GDP, such assistance was welcome for the strong value addition it brings, in terms of knowledge
transfer and sharing of international good practices," he said while speaking at a business session at ADB's annual meet at Tashkent.
The Indian Minister, who is in Tashkent to attend the 43rd annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), also said it was imperative to align regional goals with global growth.
The ADB meeting is taking place at a time when the world economy is recovering from the global recession, which was triggered by the fall of the America's iconic investment banker Lehman Brothers in September 2008.
Mukherjee also appreciated the decision of ADB to appoint an Indian as fifth Vice-President to look after private sector operations, an official release said.
ADB has appointed Lakshmi Venkatachalam, an Indian bureaucrat, as fifth Vice-President for three years.
The Finance Minister also attended the first informal meeting of finance ministers of the East Asian Summit on the sidelines of the ADB annual meet and spoke about India's vision of open regionalism and a vibrant Asian community.