Chandigarh, Nov 17 –The Province of British Columbia in Canada and Haryana (India) have agreed to form a working group to boost mutual cooperation and assistance in the field of food processing and other fields. Areas for collaboration have been identified and way paved for a lasting association to mutual advantage.
This decision was taken at a meeting the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had with the Premier of British Columbia, Ms. Christy Clark, here last evening. He offered Ms Clark who is leading a high-level delegation, to form a working group which she readily accepted.
Ms Clark invited Mr Hooda to lead a delegation of agro industry leaders to Vancouver at the Agriculture Forum meeting, likely to be held in 2012 where world leaders in industry would be invited. “Haryana and British Columbia could share technical expertise in the field of IT, food processing and mining. India and Canada complement each other and, therefore, it is in mutual interest”, she remarked.
Ms Clark asked the Chief Minister how he managed to attract auto and other industries to Haryana. Haryana is considered an auto hub and produces 50 per cent cars and motorcycles, 30 per cent refrigerators, 25 per cent tractors of the total production of India. Mr Hooda said that apart from providing infrastructure and investor-friendly atmosphere to industry, Haryana, being on three sides of New Delhi, enjoyed locational advantage. The per capita investment in Haryana was the highest in India, he said,
Mr Hooda invited global firms from British Columbian to invest in the International Horticulture Market at Ganaur. Having excellent logistics, the market will be ideally located near the Delhi border in Haryana. He also invited delegates of business people from British Columbia to visit Haryana which offered enormous opportunities.
Accepting the offer, Ms Clark said that British Columbia had expertise in the field of preservation and Canadians would be proud to be part of the delegation as this region was considered the bread basket of the country.
Mr Hooda also sought Canadian expertise in mining. Both leaders agreed that there was lot of scope for mutual co-operation and assistance, which would be beneficial for Haryana and British Columbia.
After the meeting, Ms. Clark described Mr Hooda and his team as ‘very highly professional’. “We are looking forward to quick progress. I know that this is the bread basket of India and British Columbia can offer lot of expertise in helping reduce crop losses. So agriculture will be one of the area, we are going to co-operate in. In Agriculture Forum, businessman from India and British Columbia would discuss issues of mutual interest. Life science is another big area for collaboration. I am very excited about the potential and it is like a perfect marriage”, she added.
Asked about her experience in Haryana, Ms. Clark said, “Haryana is very beautiful; the people are warm and welcoming and I am really grateful. It is very clear that the people of Haryana are very hard working and that is why the state is so rich. They are rich in the people. The people of Haryana believe in values, hard work, integrity and family, which is very much like the people of British Columbia. We have lot in common and I think it is beginning of long association”, she added.
Asked about the working group, Ms. Clark said that British Columbia and Haryana would be working together and we would have long working relationship. “I was delighted to accept his offer and I am looking forward to it”, she said, adding that she would talk to the agriculture processing and mining companies of British Columbia.
The British Columbian delegation consisted of Chief of Protocol and Executive Director in office of the Premier, Mr. Marc-Andre Ouellette, Director, International Relation and Business Development Branch Michael Nicholas, Assistant Deputy Minister in Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Mr. Shom Sen. Haryana Chief Secretary, Mrs. Urvashi Gulati, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. Chhatar Singh, and other senior officers of Haryana Government were also present at the meeting.