16 May 2004	Sunday	25 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

NEW DELHI, May 15: India's leftist parties, which will play a key role supporting the new government, said on Saturday they welcomed foreign investment and acknowledged no country could remain quarantined from the global economy.

"Foreign investment is welcome, provided that they satisfy three conditions," Sitaram Yechuri told reporters during a meeting of leftist parties to decide if they will formally join the new Congress-led government or support it from outside.

"They must augment the existing productive capacities of the country, they must upgrade technology and foreign investment must lead to employment generation. "In a globalized world no country can remain insulated from foreign capital flow."

Indian financial markets crashed to their lowest in months on Friday on investor fears that the communists would block economic reforms, especially key privatizations.

Sonia Gandhi's Congress party swept the Hindu nationalist-led coalition from power on Thursday in perhaps India's biggest election surprise. But her coalition does not have a majority and will rely on the leftist bloc, with more than 60 of the new parliament's 545 seats.

Mr Yechuri said there should be no privatization of profitable state firms and efforts should be made to revive loss-making companies.-Reuters