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British Columbia Mission to India, 2003
His words are direct, his tone friendly, yet determined; “British Columbia is the best place in Canada to live, work and invest, and we’ve been working to aggressively market that fact to the world.” Moments later Gordon Campbell – Premier of Canada’s westernmost province – boards a plane at Vancouver International Airport destined for India. Once there, he will promote his province once again as a destination of choice for business and investment. His immediate task: to share that message with the international business community, especially on the Indian sub-continent, in places like Chandigarh, New Delhi and Mumbai.
Some of the facts about British Columbia that Premier Gordon Campbell carried with him on his trade mission to India in November 2003 included: the abundance of the Province’s vast forests; mineral resources; the burgeoning petroleum and natural gas market; fruits and vegetables; and, its internationally acclaimed wineries - not to mention a film industry to rival those in Los Angeles and New York. But there were other facts as well that had a particular resonance with his Indian hosts. “Did you know,” he asked leading Indian industrialists, “that British Columbia is home to nearly 40 percent of all Canadians of Indian descent and that it continues to receive over 20 percent of Indian immigrants to Canada? Or that BC has many Indo-Canadians established in its timber industry – potential partners for Indian industry? How about the fact that British Columbia, like India, is growing its tech expertise – nearly $1billion (US$846 million) for technical training and research, including doubling electrical and computer engineering and computer science graduates over 5 years.”
Senior Indian officials, including Chief Ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra, know the BC portfolio well. They know that British Columbia’s exports to India tripled during the last decade and that India’s burgeoning middleclass is creating a rising demand for more wood products (homes, furniture, etc.). In 2002, wood pulp made up nearly one half of British Columbia’s exports to India – with room to grow. They’re also aware that British Columbia and India share the same entrepreneurial spirit and interests in the high technology sector and that both countries see enormous economic opportunities in education, film, and tourism. What’s even more apparent as India’s business sector invests more aggressively in global markets is that British Columbia, in the words of Premier Campbell, offers one of the most competitive investment locations in North America.
What does that mean for India’s industry leaders? Perhaps it meant a lot to companies such as Momentum Technologies, an Indian software solutions provider, which opened a British Columbia office in 2001; or to Aditi, an Indian company with operations in Seattle that opened a small Vancouver operation in 2002, or to Tata Consultancy Services, which set up shop in British Columbia in October 2004. They saw what hundreds of other companies inside and outside Canada are seeing – a government intent on fostering a business and investment climate that welcomes the entrepreneurial spirit, encourages innovation and relishes the opportunity to help businesses grow along with the provincial economy. “Your success, our success,” Campbell tells his audience, “makes a compelling case for increased trade between British Columbia and India.” His audience likes what it hears.
When Campbell’s plane touched down back at Vancouver International, a reporter called out, “How was your trip to India, Mr. Premier?” Campbell replies, “It couldn’t have gone better. The trip exceeded my expectations. We were very graciously received and people were exceptionally friendly throughout. But, best of all, we learned there are real economic opportunities for both India and British Columbia.”
* By David Kosub - Gov’t of BC
Quebec Mission to India, November 2004
A high-powered business mission from the Canadian province of Quebec, which visited India for the first time, projected itself as a partner for the future to India Inc. The delegation, led by Mr Marc Ferland, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economic and Regional Development, Quebec, who said that the objective of the high-profile mission was to build new trade and investment relationships between Indian organisations and the province of Quebec. He said this while interacting with industry representatives, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi on 01 November 2004.
The Mr Ferland-led mission was in India between the 1st and 5th of November 2004, and besides meeting with industry representatives and Government officials, also travelled to Mumbai, to showcase Quebec to Indian Inc.
Highlighting opportunities for collaboration, Mr Ferland said that many companies from Quebec like CAE Inc, Met-Chem, Bombardier International, are well known in India. He said that it was time to create more awareness and leverage the business potential that exists between India and Quebec.
Mr Francois Bouilhac, Assistant Deputy Minister, Quebec Ministry of International Relations, while presenting a brief overview of the Quebec economy, highlighted areas such as Health Science, IT, Aerospace and Natural Resources, as potential sectors, where India and Quebec could collaborate through mutual cooperation.
Mr Mario Lebrun, Vice President, Investment Quebec, who was also part of the delegation, said that Quebec was a competitive economy with low operating costs and a highly skilled workforce. He also pointed out that Quebec had attractive R&D incentives besides a favourable corporate tax system. Mr David McKinnon, Counsellor (Commercial) and Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian High Commission, also addressed industry representatives.
Earlier, Mr V K Mathur, Chairman & Managing Director, Inapex Ltd, in his welcome address, said that the visit of the Quebec delegation was timely, as India was fast becoming an economic superpower. He said that the need of the hour was to identify specific sectors for cooperation and identify business partners to build linkages.
* Confederation of Indian Industry
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