WIREDGOV

First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones departed yesterday for a visit to India for a series of meetings with businesses and government ministers.

During his three-day visit, the First Minister will lead a delegation in Delhi and Mumbai to further raise the profile of Wales following a successful visit to India in 2012.

His itinerary includes meetings with Indian Government Ministers, companies, the media and the Group Executive Director of Tata Steel Mr Koushik Chatterjee.  He will speak at the opening of the Tata Literary Festival at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai and also host a lunch for the Creative Industries.  The lunch will include Welsh poets who are partnering with Indian counterparts to mark DT100 and members of Ghazalaw, a collaboration between Indian and Welsh musicians.  

In Mumbai he will also host a business reception hosted by the Welsh and Maharashra Governments and have separate meetings with, Mr SM Vaidya, CEO of Godrej Aerospace,  Mr Dinesh Jain, Chief Financial Officer of Firstsource and  Dr Murtaza Khorakiwala, MD of Wockhardt.

The First Minister said:

“I am pleased to be returning to India to build on our success in promoting Wales as the go-to destination for quality foreign investment.

“These visits are important to promote Wales around the world as a place to invest, visit, study and do business. The benefits are an increased profile for Wales and investment and jobs. Only last week I announced 620 new jobs in Bridgend being created by the Canadian-based CGI Group, one of the largest independent IT companies in the world.

“I am proud of our links with India and was pleased that following my successful visit to the country two years ago that businessman Raj Aggarwal was appointed Honorary Consul for India with jurisdiction for Wales.

“International visits and events like the recent NATO summit provide us with an opportunity to raise the profile of Wales. Building on the summit, we will be hosting the UK Investment Conference - Embracing Technology for Competitive Advantage next month.”

The high profile conference at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, will bring together leaders of technology and future change to give their unique insights into the fast changing world of digital technology and social media and what it means for their business.

Designed to stimulate inward investment and create jobs, growth and wealth,  it will highlight Wales as an outstanding investment location and a hub of excellence where cutting edge R&D go hand in hand with innovative technological solutions.