Punjab govt, Ontario sign trade promotion pact

The Punjab government and Province of Ontario today signed an agreement to promote trade and commerce and exploring mutually beneficial avenues of economic cooperation.
The agreement would focus on exploring opportunities of doing business and investment in Ontario and Punjab through seminars, exchange of ideas by industrialists on both sides through trade missions and delegations, an official spokesman said.
The pact was signed in the presence of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario by Principal Secretary, Industry and Commerce Anirudh Tewari and Helan Angus, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Citizenship Immigration and International Trade here today, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed satisfaction over the keen interest shown by the delegation to explore the sectors including smart city and developing infrastructure in the state, besides exchanging expertise in various fields by both the states in emerging areas.
Badal said emphasis would also be laid on exchanging expertise in skill development, a field in which Punjab is emerging as a major player.
He expressed confidence that members of Punjabi Diaspora settled in Canada would take this opportunity to invest in Punjab.

Terming Punjab as favorite destination for investment, with two successful progressive Punjab Investor summits, Badal said the state government has facilitated establishing new business ventures by setting up Invest Punjab, which is a one stop place where businessmen desirous of making investments have to submit one application for acquiring all necessary clearances instead of making rounds of multiple departments.

Badal offered to invest in food processing sector as Punjab has declared tax free regime for food processing units.
He also informed that the state has decided to provide cheapest power and other incentives for upcoming units.
Badal said this MoU would herald a new era of co-operation to both Ontario and Punjab with specialized focus on core sectors of urban infrastructure (including environmental technologies, clean/renewable energy technologies, intelligent transportation technologies) and information and communications technology (ICT).
Besides, it would help sectors like advanced manufacturing in automotive, food manufacturing and processing, agriculture including technology and skills training and development, education and skills development.

On the occasion, premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne offered to form a joint team of both provinces to explore potential areas where investments could be made and expertise could be shared.