Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) CEOs' delegation on the first day of its business development mission to New York on Friday.
Ashok Soota, president, CII announced the chamber's plans to send two more delegations in the next three months. One delegation would focus on technology and the other on bio-technology, he pointed out. He also extended an invitation to Clinton to lead a business delegation from New York to India.
"This business development mission marks the beginning of a journey that is full of promise for Buffalo and Western New York to explore the possibility of joint ventures, to find new markets for our respective technologies and to promote economic development," Clinton said.
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"Buffalo has so many success stories and I am pleased that this esteemed delegation of Indian CEOs is here to experience many of them. I want to make sure that every corner of Upstate New York reaches its full potential, which is why I welcome this delegation to Buffalo and the relationships that will be created here today," she said.
"There are so many advantages in investing in western New York. We need to make sure that people from around the nation and the world know about the great opportunities for investment that lie right here in western and upstate New York. This mission today is a great step forward in that process," she said.
The CEOs' delegation, led by CII president Ashok Soota, began its day at the Niagara Falls before joining Clinton. Later, they were told about the plans for the proposed Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bio-informatics at the University of Buffalo.
At the Center for Computational Research, William R Greiner, president of the University of Buffalo, and Soota signed a memorandum of understanding for formalising the relationship between the university and the CII. The memorandum declared that both parties would exchange literature and information on research, investment opportunities and other activities as well as identify areas for running joint programmes. It also confirmed their commitment to exchange faculty on a need-basis and to participate in major events organised by the two partners.
Later in the day, Clinton and the delegation toured the university's technology incubator and were introduced to three Buffalo-based incubator companies.
Following the tour, Clinton hosted a round-table discussion with business leaders and representatives from the University of Buffalo.
In the evening, Clinton and the delegation attended a reception with business, civic and community leaders from the Buffalo and Eerie Counties.