PREMIER Christy Clark announced Monday that she will lead her sixth international trade mission to India this time – as part of the BC Jobs Plan’s commitment to expand international trade and investment.
Joining her will be Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk and a group of registered delegates.
The Premier will travel to New Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh October 9-18 for face-to-face meetings with key business and government officials. Virk will also travel to Bangalore to raise awareness of the great potential for secondary and post-secondary education partnerships, joint research initiatives, and student exchange between B.C. and India.
India is an emerging trade partner for British Columbia. The trade mission will focus on a number of key areas including education, natural gas and other resources, agrifoods, clean technology, life sciences, film and digital arts, and finance.
India has significant untapped potential for B.C. because:
* It is Asia’s third-largest economy and is projected to become one of the largest consumer markets in the world.
* It has a rapidly growing middle class.
* Its newly elected government is sending strong signals it is business-friendly and wants to modernize the country.
* Building strong educational ties with a growing economy and modernizing society such as India will benefit B.C. students and B.C.’s education system.
In 2013, B.C. goods exports to India were worth $468 million, an increase of 45% compared to the same period in 2012.
The province says opening and expanding markets for our goods and services is a pillar of the BC Jobs Plan. Trade missions are a critical part of British Columbia’s strategy to strengthen and diversify its international trading partners and secure new investment, propelling economic activity and job creation throughout the province.
Quick Facts:
* B.C. exports to India increased more than 296% between 2001 and 2013.
* The top commodity exports to India in 2013 were coal, copper, wood pulp and newsprint.
* The number of students coming to B.C. from India has grown more than 188% over the last three years.
* In 2013, India ranked as the sixth-highest market destination for British Columbia exports, after five years of steady increases.
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Learn More:
For more information about B.C. trade and investment opportunities visit: http://www.britishcolumbia.ca/
To register as a delegate for the trade mission to India:
http://www.britishcolumbia.ca/invest/events/event-details.aspx?EventId=161
Stop wasting our money!!!!
Things are slow in B.C. – only a teachers’ strike and an environmental catastrophe. Great leadership!
It’s a great time to get out of British Columbia, when you leave thousands of parents in a lurch over the strike you refuse to settle. And when does the cleanup of the worst environmental disaster in Canada start?
How much will this trip cost the taxpayers? Or do you feel that’s none of our business too?
Christy Clark has got to go….For her to go to India that tells me she has no back bone. I bet you Christy will legislate the Teachers back. The people of B.C. should
tell their MLA’s, she must no go. The tax payers have no money. For the people that voted Christy Clark/Liberal Party ”YOU GOT WHAT YOU VOTED FOR, and it will only get worse in B.C.
Christy, you have a lot of issues to deal with right now in B.C. Stop wasting taxpayer’s money on trips to Asia. We need to keep the money here for education and healthcare. How much will your trip cost? If you really want to discover India, you should go and stay in the rural villages, then you will have a good sense of what a third world country is like. Also, please stop comparing first world education to third world education.
Why are you recruiting more students for B.C. when you can’t or won’t take care of the ones already here. You should be ashamed of the way you have underfunded public education in this province.
Premier Clark will be in India for a trade conference between October 9-19. Time to turn up the heat. Write, honk, wave flags, donate, tell your union to donate, make soup for teachers, crash the party, message your friends in New Delhi, Mumbai and Changidarh, show your kids how to stand up. This is everyone’s fight, not just the teachers.
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Priorities??? Once again flying first class, racking up Visa bills and eating in fancy restaurants which we will be paying for!! When are you planning on putting families first?