MUMBAI, INDIA - With a view to furthering Indo-Canadian Business ties, Her Worship Ms. Bonnie Crombie, Mayor of Mississauga chose to visit Mumbai first, on her two-week India Mission 2017, along with a high-powered business delegation. She said, “Mississauga, a vibrant, thriving, prosperous, multicultural, multifaceted and diverse city with a significant Indian diaspora holds huge potential for Indian businesses. Our city has become a natural choice for business leaders world over who seek to access markets in North America, especially Canada. Located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Mississauga is 6th largest and fastest growing city with close to 760,000 residents who command a modern lifestyle, an ever-growing economy and is governed by an innovative and smart local municipality”. The delegation was co-lead by Mr. Pappur Shankar, Vice President, Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce. In her honour an interactive meeting was organized by the World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai and All India Association of Industries and the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce at the World Trade Centre Mumbai on January 4, 2017.

In her presentation titled ‘Business is a Human Race’ Mayor Crombie emphasized that Mississauga is rated AAA (Standards & Poor’s) with business taxes among the lowest in North America. “Mississauga is ranked number 1 in FDI, having direct access to $13 trillion NAFTA and European Union markets. The dynamics of its extraordinary environment, business community and exceptional talent has spurred growth and innovation in the city”, Mayor Crombie proclaimed.

Mr. Shankar said, “We have seen India-Canada economic relations rise from nothing to reach where they are today - over $8.3 billion in merchandize trade. The bilateral trade is growing at double digit rates for the last 3 years and it grew by 29% in the last year. Creating a bridge between Canadian and Indian innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems is one of the latest areas of growth in bilateral relationship. At the end of 2015, almost 49,000 international students from India were studying for six months or more in Canada. India is the second largest source country for foreign students in Canada.”

Mr. Vijay Kalantri, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai said, ‘The current bilateral trade between India and Canada stands at $6 billion which can double in the next 3-5 years, if concerted efforts are made towards this direction. There are tremendous opportunities in the areas of tourism, culture, filming (Bollywood) oil & gas, petroleum, agriculture and food processing, healthcare, clean technology, etc. India requires technology, investments, joint ventures from Canada as it is at the forefront of business activities. Prime Minster Modi’s initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India, Startup India etc. hold great scope where Canada can partner and work together.

In Photo: (L-R): Mr. Vijay Kalantri, Vice Chairman, World Trade Centre Mumbai felicitating Her Worship Ms. Bonnie Crombie, Mayor, City of Mississauga, Canada.

To learn more about WTC Mumbai, please click on the source link below.