Invest in India.

That was the invitation extended by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at a welcome reception at the Crowne Plaza in Port of Spain hosted by the Indian High Commission on Thursday night.

A very soft-spoken Singh invited the local Indian diaspora to invest in India and promised to call on people of Indian origin from all over the world to visit Trinidad and Tobago in order to help bolster flagging tourism figures. ’India has earned the reputation of a knowledge economy and has earned that reputation because of the people from India who now work in all parts of the world,’ Singh said.

’Because of their diligence, India is viewed as the wellspring of creativity and enterprise,’ he said.

Singh, who is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) , explained that today’s India is a far cry from what the country forefathers would remember. He called on local business people to find new pathways of development and progress and to enjoy the ’mutually beneficial’ relationship with India.

’There are many ’win-win’ investment opportunities in India. India has embraced a culture of ’live and let live’,’ he added.

Singh came to Trinidad protected by a security detail larger than that of the Queen of England, observers said. ’You have to understand, the Prime Minister will be very well protected. You have to take the history of India into consideration,’ a source in the Indian High Commission explained.

The reception was attended by the Who’s Who in the Indo-Trinidadian community and other guests.