Source: Quebec Ministry of International Relations via Indian Economic Business News
Jean-François Lisée, Minister of International Relations, La Francophonie and External Trade, and Élaine Zakaïb, Minister for Industrial Policy and the Banque de développement économique du Québec, are enthusiastic about the potential for expanding economic, political, educational and cultural relations with the emerging Asian giant. They led a delegation of representatives of about 15 Québec companies and institutions. In Delhi, Jean- François Lisée met with Shashi Tharoor, former United Nations Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information and current Indian Minister of State for Human Resource Development, with a view to expanding collaboration and discussing the numerous existing agreements between Québec and India in the field of higher education. He also met with Valayar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, who confirmed that the Québec-India social security agreement currently on the drawing board may be ready for signing this coming spring. In Mumbai, Bhopal and Delhi, the Québec participants met with national and regional players involved in the deployment of various segments of this ambitious project. All told, the Québec representatives took part in over 50 bilateral business meetings. In Gujarat, Minister Zakaïb toured the facilities of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Limited (IFFCO), one of the world’s leading agricultural co-ops. Élaine Zakaïb also met with IFFCO executives at the organization’s headquarters in Delhi.