Vice-President Ansari: Rule of law must for economic growth and getting foreign investments

PATNA: Vice President of India M Hamid Ansari today said that the existence of rule of law was an essential pre-requisite for creating an environment that supports economic growth and draws foreign investments.

“The business is conducted best under conditions of peace, stability and good governance and the existence of standardized and harmonized commercial laws provide certainty and predictability for international business,” Ansari told a function in Patna organized to mark the 90th Anniversary of the Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He added the countries desiring to have a share of international business must be prepared to adopt conventions and model laws that the major trading nations have already implemented as part of their law

The Vice President said that the most direct and visible link between international legal obligations, the rule of law and investor confidence is demonstrated by the emergence and rapid proliferation of the modern Bilateral Investment Promotion & Protection Agreements or BIPAs.

He added the Government of India had, so far, signed BIPAs with 83 countries out of which 72 have already come into force.

“Our experience has been that BIPA encourage foreign investors to invest in a State and there by contributing towards overall developments and advancements of the economy,” he added.

He said the last decade has seen remarkable growth in Bihar.

The 10th Bihar Economic Survey Report- 2015-16, which was tabled before the Bihar Legislature in February this year by the Government of Bihar, he added, stated that the state economy has grown annually at 10.5% during the period 2005-06 to 2014-15, highest among all major Indian states.

“The progress made by Bihar in areas of construction, public services, and improved telecommunication have been the key drivers in this spurt of growth. But the state needs to expand economic growth and maintain its rapid tempo for at least two decades if it aspires to join the league of developed states,” he observed.