Minister Chagger concludes visit to New Delhi

NEW DELHI, India, March 29, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, today concluded her visit to New Delhi, the first stop on her trip to India to strengthen bilateral relations and promote greater ties between Canadian and Indian small businesses and tour operators. She now travels to Mumbai.

While in New Delhi, Minister Chagger met with the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber to discuss opportunities for trade and business relations between India and Canada. She also delivered remarks at its annual awards dinner, in which she emphasized the strong cultural and economic ties between Canada and India, as well as the shared priorities of promoting women entrepreneurship, supporting clean technologies, and a creating a strong and dynamic start-up culture.

Minister Chagger met with a number of Cabinet ministers of the Government of India, including Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry; Ananth Kumar, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Kalraj Mishra, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) and Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, Minister of State for MSME; as well as Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism. The Minister also toured the Parliament of India and met with Indian parliamentarians, including Sumitra Mahajan, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

On March 28, Minister Chagger hosted a round-table with women entrepreneurs from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). She then participated in an announcement with DataWind, a Mississauga-based ICT manufacturer, to celebrate the launch of VidyaTab-Punjabi, a Punjabi-language education tablet. Later, the Minister attended a round-table on promoting Canada–India tourism, which included representatives from the travel sectors of both countries and from Destination Canada, Canada's tourism marketing agency.

Minister Chagger concluded her stay in New Delhi with a meeting with the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), an organization of self-employed women in rural and urban India. The Minister discussed the importance of women's economic empowerment with several young women entrepreneurs who are working hard to earn additional income for their families.  

Quote

"My time in New Delhi has been very productive. This trip is very important to me, and I am proud of the work we have accomplished so far. The Canada–India relationship is a priority for Canada, and I am happy to have met many of the hard-working and amazing people who demonstrate the strength of this relationship through their daily work. Their continued efforts make the Canada–India relationship even stronger."
– The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Quick facts

• India is one of Destination Canada's ten key overseas markets, with over 215,000 visitors to Canada in 2016.
• Canada's Indo-Canadian community has a history spanning more than a century and today totals nearly 1.2 million people.
• India is a priority market in Canada's Global Markets Action Plan. Two-way merchandise trade between Canada and India was worth almost $8 billion in 2016.
• Over 400 Canadian companies have a presence in India, and more than 1,000 actively pursue business in the market.
• India's economy grew at a rate of 7.1 percent in 2016, making it the world's fastest‑growing economy.

Follow Minister Chagger on social media. 
Twitter: @MinofSBT 
Instagram: minofsbt

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

For further information: Marie-Emmanuelle Cadieux, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Small Business and Tourism, 343-291-2700; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [e-mail]

Related Links

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/home