Ontario is determined to enhance its trade in merchandise and services with India, said Honourable Victor Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, at ‘Unpacking India’ program organised jointly by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and Loopstra Nixon LLP in Toronto on 17 December.
Pramod Goyal, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce along with his colleagues on the board, and several members of the Chamber including Past President D. P. Jain attended the program, which was held at the offices of the law firm Loopstra Nixon LLP.
The Minister was debriefing entrepreneurs and professionals of his tremendously successful visit to India between 18 and 22 November 2019. He had led a business delegation comprising Canadian companies in IT and Infrastructure sector.
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce participated in the trade visit and four of its board members accompanied the Minister. These included Pramod Goyal, President; Vijay Thomas, Vice President, International Trade and ITC; Arvind Bhardwaj, Vice President, SME; and Virender Rathi, Director, Legal Affairs.
The delegation participated in bilateral events in New Delhi and Mumbai organised by the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber and the Canada India Business Council.
Speaking at the ‘Unpacking India’ program, Minister Fedeli acknowledged the positive role that Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce is playing in fostering bilateral economic relations between Canada and India.
Providing a perspective to the significance of the economic relationship between Ontario and India, the Minister said the two-way merchandise trade between Ontario and India is worth C$3.2 billion, that is over one-third of total Canada – India trade. Nine per cent of Canadian exports to India are from Ontario.
Vijay Thomas, speaking on behalf of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, said, “We can say with utmost confidence that Ontario is fortunate to have Honourble Victor Fedeli as the Minister for Economic Development, Employment Generation and Trade.”
Vijay said Fedeli brings an entrepreneurial orientation to his work that focuses on results and not just the efforts. “We at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce are confident that he will continue his great work of transforming Ontario’s economy, generating employment and enhancing trade,” he said, and added, “In Minister Fedeli our Chamber finds an able ally who understands the importance of global trade and services for the province.”
Ontario has Trade and Investment Offices in New Delhi and Mumbai to attract and facilitate investment deals, help small- and medium-sized enterprises expand their export capacity and promote the province’s open for business mandate. More than 50 Indian companies across all sectors have operations and investments in Ontario. And over 52,000 Indian post-secondary students studied in Ontario’s world-class universities and colleges during the 2018 to 2019 school year.
Hon. Nina Tangri, Parliamentary Assistant to the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade and Hon. Deepak Anand, MPP, had also accompanied the Minister to India in the delegation that comprised 20 Canadian companies and representatives of Canada – India bilateral trade promotion organisations.
Caption:
- Victor Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, addressing Indo-Canadian entrepreneurs and professionals at the ‘Unpacking India’ program held co-hosted by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and Loopstra Nixon LLP
- From L to R: Arvind Bhardwaj, Dharma P Jain, Pramod Goyal, Victor Fedeli, BK Sethi, Surinder Sharma, Sanjay Kulkarni and Vijay Thomas
- From L to R: Sanjay Kulkarni, Virender Rathi, Loopstra Nixon lawyer, Pramod Goyal, Victor Fedeli, Surinder Sharma, Vijay Thomas and Don Patel
- Vijay Thomas, Vice President and Director, International Trade and ITC, ICCC