Page 390 - Week 02 - Thursday, 8 March 2007
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government procurement market. Tata’s strong interest in Canberra and support for the mission in general can be viewed from the perspective of its involvement in e-government and related services and transactions technology. Tata has carriage of a major whole of government e-government project in India and is actively looking for technology partners to participate in the project. I understand that ACT companies have strong capabilities to meet some technical elements of this project. Mission participants had direct meetings with the Tata project team on this.
ACT government and University of Canberra representatives also conducted skilled migration and tertiary education opportunity information sessions in Bangalore and New Delhi to around 160 pre-qualified ICT professionals, accountants and engineers. These occupations are all in critical shortage in Canberra.
The mission’s presence in the ICT city hubs in India was a good opportunity to spread the word in India about the employment and professional development opportunities that Canberra has to offer. Prior to the mission, the government’s skilled and business migration program had sponsored 21 independent skilled migrants from India since May last year, in fields ranging from ICT to accountancy and social work. We have also assisted local employers to sponsor another 12 skilled workers from India in the medical, hospitality and childcare industries, as well as in academia. I anticipate the face-to-face promotion of this program in the context of the mission will see an increase in the number of qualified and skilled Indian technology workers coming to Canberra.
In terms of next steps, a formal participant debrief will be held in the coming weeks by Austrade and my department with all mission participants. At that point we will have a much better handle on the outcomes of the individual company programs. However, in general terms I can report that all the participants have returned to Canberra full of enthusiasm about an India dimension to their businesses. They are talking about strong business opportunities, and real ones, right now.
For my part, I was also very encouraged by the discussions I had in India. I am absolutely convinced that Canberra has much to learn and much to gain through deepening its connections with the people of India and broadening its reach into the Indian economy. As such, I envisage there will be significant trade and investment outcomes that directly arise from this mission. But, of course, the hard work needs to continue.
My department will be working with the business community and Austrade to bring together the outcomes of the mission and develop a strategy to capitalise on the opportunities it has presented. Our preliminary thoughts are to stage a Focus on India-type business event later this year or early next year to bring this effort and interest together in a concentrated form. Trade missions are not just about selling to new overseas customers on a one-to-one, container-by-container basis. They are also about opening our economies to two-way trade and investment flows and making permanent and strategic connections. That is how we must all see and approach India, and that is what the recent trade mission was all about.
Before concluding, I would like to thank those officers within my department, as well as, most particularly, Mr John Miller of the business council, and those delegates from
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