Toronto: Ontario’s trade minister will begin a tour of India on Monday with the aim of attracting Indian high-tech companies to the Canadian province. Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Victor Fedeli’s week-long visit to India comes in September over the June 18 killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey. This will be the first visit by a prominent Canadian leader to India since bilateral tensions erupted. british columbia.
Federi said this in an interview with the Hindustan Times ahead of the visit at his office on Bay Street in downtown Toronto’s business district. We will be meeting with a number of technology companies and I think the important thing will be to share with them the great opportunity we have by touring our facilities in Ontario to enhance the capabilities of our Indian headquarters. This is how they get into the North American market so that they don’t compete for the work they’re doing there or for market share in that region. ”
He described the trip to Mumbai and Bengaluru as a “roll up your sleeves sales mission”.
He said that there was no sharp deterioration in bilateral relations between the federal governments, and preparatory interactions with Indian companies were progressing positively. “Part of that (visit) is a signal to India that Ontario is open for business. And the real message we want to send is that the value proposition of coming to Ontario hasn’t changed in the last year. “No. There are still solid business reasons for them to be here,” he said.
Mr. Fedeli was scheduled to travel to India on a trade mission in November last year, but was caught up in a bilateral freeze. His visa expired in September, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons there were “credible suspicions” of potential links between Indian agents and Canadians. Because India had stopped issuing visas to Canadians, it was not possible to obtain them again in time. Nijjar murder case.
“We decided to come in February instead and are looking forward to traveling again in November,” Fedeli said, adding, “We always think we have this great value proposition. It’s not going anywhere.”
Its value proposition includes access to 51 countries with which Canada has tariff-free agreements, as well as access to advanced manufacturing capabilities and talent in fast-growing sectors, if Indian companies choose to co-locate in Ontario. Includes the state’s ecosystem in technology and life sciences. Field of artificial intelligence and robotics.
“Again, we think this is a great opportunity to send a signal to India and businesses that we are open for business and the fundamentals have not changed. So roll up your sleeves and do business together. “Let’s do it,” he said, and asked if he was prepared for criticism of his visit.
He was also preparing for this “sales mission” by handing out business cards printed in Hindi. “The technology (sector) is the low-hanging fruit. They want to be here. We want them to be here. We have a great opportunity for them. We’re going to focus on it: Fish where the fish are.”