This would boost exchange with Germany, and Bavaria in particular. Bengal saw Bavaria as a bilateral trade partner which could contribute to development of the state, said Buddhadeb Bhattarcharjee, chief minister of West Bengal, said at the Bengal-Bavaria Business summit 2008. Bhattarcharjee pointed out that both areas offered a business friendly environment for sectors like automobiles, communication and information technology.
The West Bengal government inaugurated a trade centre in Munich in April to focus on getting European investors to West Bengal. The centre would market Bengal to European companies as an investor friendly destination. West Bengal-based companies could partner with medium-sized German companies for projects in West Bengal.
Bhattarcharjee claimed Bavarian companies had expressed genuine interest and the state was determined to get them for development. Bavaria had a gross domestic product of 408 billion euro. Bhattacharjee said Bengal lacked marketing and packaging solutions for the agricultural sector.