ACT's India Trade Delegation Shaping Up to Ship Out

Planning has now been finalised for the ACT's first India trade mission, which will be led by Chief Minister Jon Stanhope.

The 11 organisations participating in the mission were briefed earlier this week by the High Commission of India and the India-Australia Business Council prior to their departure this weekend.

The Chief Minister said he was looking forward to his first trip to India which would involve a series of high-level political and business meetings.

The mission will span four cities over 10 days; Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Bangalore.

‘I am particularly keen to support the commercial objectives of our mission's members during meeting with some leading Indian CEOs,’ Mr Stanhope said.

‘The clear message the group heard last night is that the opportunities in India are enormous, but you have to approach the Indian market in a very patient and systematic way,’ Mr Stanhope said.

‘We started scoping this mission back in October with a premise that it would be mostly about marketing our information technology (IT) skills and wares,’ the Chief Minister said. ‘As planning for the mission has progressed, what has become apparent is our selling point in India is going to be about Canberra's unique knowledge economy, the research cluster it represents, and the unique businesses that Canberra has given rise to.’

‘The companies on the mission sell a diverse range of products, services and technologies, but what links them together is their knowledge economy focus,’ Mr Stanhope said.

The members of the mission are:

• National ICT Centre of Excellence
• Perpetual Water
• Ruleburst
• Team Canberra (representing the Canberra education export industry)
• Excom Education
• India Australia Business Forum Film & Entertainment Group (Representing Butterfly Media)
• Shivoys International
• Capital Hill Consulting
• Diverse Concepts International
• Centre for Customs & Excise Studies
• Canberra Business Council

The mission program is divided into a company stream, where business participants meet with like-minded Indian businesses and institutions and the Chief Minister's program which will involve higher level political and CEO meetings.

The Chief Minister is also participating in the NASSCOM 2007 Leaders Forum (India's annual strategy forum for the ICT sector) and has been asked to speak on the ACT's approach to building knowledge-based communities.

The Chief Minister will also meet with biotechnology representatives and players in the India 'Bollywood' film industry during the mission.

Skilled migration seminars will be conducted by ACT Government officials in New Delhi and Bangalore to coincide with the trade mission presence in those two cities. The seminars are being held in conjunction with the University of Canberra's education export area.

The India trade mission has been funded by the ACT Government with Austrade contracted to provide mission planning, company introductions and other logistics support and advice. Mission participants are meeting their own direct costs, with the ACT Government paying for the services provided to participants by Austrade.