The Hindu : Canada keen on improving trade ties with India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 23, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Canada keen on improving trade ties with India

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, FEB. 22. Canada has a flourishing Information Technology industry for which software professionals are required. This apart, biotechnology and multimedia offer tremendous scope for aspiring immigrants. The country, which has a large immigrant population, is keen to have more of them to have a sustained growth rate. These were disclosed at an interactive meeting of Canadian officials and industrialists from Kerala, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here recently.

The Canadian Acting Consul General, Ping Kitnikone, who gave a computerised presentation on `Doing business with Canada', said that Kerala could be one of the beneficiaries in the present development scenario. Indian students could gain from the Canadian expertise in the multimedia and animation fields. Organic farming was another area where Kerala could make efforts to cash in on its strengths, she said.

As Canada was in need of professionals in the medical services, nurses from Kerala had good chances to migrate to that country. Nevertheless, the country adhered to certain norms for issuing visas. Knowledge of English was a primary requirement that was assessed through established procedures, she said. As regards business process outsourcing, the language issue might pose problems as Canada had a large French-speaking population too, she said.

Trade partnerships between units in India and Canada could be established, depending on mutual requirements. Canada offered tax benefits to those who wanted to set up units there, she said.

Quoting the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit, she said that Canada would be the best place in the world to do business.

"Canada displaces the Netherlands which previously occupied the top spot in the rankings. Countries such as the U.S., UK and Hong Kong that are generally perceived as more business-friendly are outpaced by Canada," she said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala