The LATIN AMERICAN CARIBBEAN TRADE OFFICE(LACTC) in association with the Indian Economic Trade Organization inaugurated its office in Chennai which was well attended by the Business community in Tamil Nādu state and other parts of India. The Ambassador of the Republic of Jamaica His Excellency Jason Hall and the newly Installed Chairman of the LACTC Hon. Rajesh Chandan inaugurated the office in Chennai headed by the dynamic team of specialists in international business sectors. The welcome keynote address was given by the Chairman of LACTC who also gave a presentation of opportunities available for foreign investors in the education sector and other collaborative projects with the state.
Dr. Asif Iqbal, President of the Indian Economic Trade Organization who just returned from the successful delegation from Jamaica recently briefed the community about the visit to the beautiful country of Jamaica a few weeks ago with a 9 member delegation also mentioned the opportunities available for the Indian businessmen in areas of Tourism, IT Development, solar energy, BPO, hospitality sector and also education collaborations.
The Latin American Caribbean Trade office is responsible for Promoting Investment and Growth in collaboration with the Ministries of trade and commerce of various latin American countries and their governments and trade promotion departments. The office in Chennai will be under the embassies of various Latin American Caribbean embassies in New Delhi. The event was attended by around 120 participants representing public, business, educational and healthcare sectors of the country.
The delegates discussed with the Chairman of the LACTC Hon. Rajesh Chandan about the issues and prospects of the bilateral economic cooperation, presented several interesting proposals aimed at jointly implementing them. In his remarks the Jamaican High Commissioner mentioned about the bilateral political relations and praised the positive environment of India’s Atma Nirbhar formed over the recent years, adding that the visits of the trade and business delegations of India have greatly contributed to relations and will pave way for accelerating trade and diplomatic ties.
The objective is to help promote economic cooperation and strengthen the ties between the world’s largest agricultural country and Latin American nations. The Latin American Caribbean office in Chennai will help work together on various partnerships between MSMEs of both regions, which will include visits of delegations and exploring opportunities in the hospitality, mining, and tourism sectors, to mention a few. “I’m very excited as I can see a lot of potential in Latin American countries to bring trade to India and in India to take a lot of trade to Latin America,” says HE Jason Hall, Ambassador of Jamaica who feels Jamica’s strategic location could be a delight for Indian corporates to do business there as it’s a excellent tourist destination for Indians. The delegation from India is slated to visit the beautiful region of the Caribbean region in 2023.
There is a huge interest in India for Latin American products like coffee, Rum, Tobacco, Cigars, Mining, Agriculture food processing products and has a great scope for bilateral trading opportunities and Industrial development by Indian companies.
“Indian film shooting are a great opportunity for film makers in the Latin American region for its scenic beauty and reasonable manpower costs. When it comes to locations for Indian film makers from India, there are high number of exotic locations” said Yateesh Venkatesh, leading film maker from South India called Purple rock Entertainment. They plan to visit Latin America to explore some good locations for their upcoming project and are in discussions with the LACTC office in Chennai for support and coordination.
When asked about the role that the Indian market could play in strengthening the relations, the Jamaican High Commissioner answers, “Agriculture is the backbone of India and so is it for Jamaica. Our needs are ever-growing. To get agriculture and the tech in agriculture is the future. So, the moment we both have something to give and take, the relationship and business will only grow.” The delegations of the IETO in few weeks ago saw MOUs signed in the areas of Agro forestry, Tourism and Hospitality, Solar energy and Pharma products. India has a large market for Jamaica’s Medical education sector and pharma Talent, with high potential for bilateral cooperation in the areas of Skill Development, Affordable Housing, Agriculture, Tourism and Entertainment.
“Jamaica has got a complete relaxed work culture and it’s a very peaceful place. For somebody who’s interested in resorts and hotels, it offers great opportunities. There are a lot of hotel and hospitality investment opportunities. Education too is a very imp segment there as there’re a lot of Indian students in medicine. Various prospects to get engaged with Jamaica,” adds the President of the Indian Economic Trade Organization, Dr. Asif Iqbal who was at the event.
“As the Chairman of the Latin American Caribbean Trade Office, my goal is to build bilateral relations reach new heights between India and Latin American region and our forthcoming India LAC conference in October 2023 will see tremendous interest from the Indian side especially in the backdrop of India taking over the presidency of the G20 summit, we will have a lot to promote India and its leadership program especially in Knowledge exchange, human capacity building and exports of Agriculture produce with focus on food processing sectors which have a great scope in Latin America” said the Chairman Hon. Rajesh Chandan.
The Delegation from other Latin American countries are expected to visit Tamilnadu in 2023 and sign MOU’s with various pharma and IT companies. The office of the Latin American Caribbean Trade will facilitate these mechanisms.
