Dodds To Visit India

On his first visit to India the Minister will have talks with the Indian Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, business leaders and tour operators. Mr Dodds will visit HCL Technologies in Delhi and Firstsource in Mumbai, both of which have substantial operations in Northern Ireland.

The Minister will also see the work of Tourism Ireland and meet with a group of Indian tour operators to discuss how best to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination.

Outlining the objectives of the visit, Mr Dodds said: "India is now among the most dynamic and fastest growing global economies particularly in innovative technologies. It is sustaining annual growth rates of around 9% and has emerged as a global leader in industries from software to automotive engineering and life sciences.

"India is now an important source of both inward investment and trade revenue for Northern Ireland. Over 3,000 people are now employed by major Indian companies such as HCL, Firstsource, Polaris Software Lab, Tech Mahindra and Pix Transmission.

The presence of these companies reinforces the fact that India is a very significant source of inward investment for Northern Ireland."

The Minister stressed the importance of trade links already established with India and but noted that, "India's importance to the Northern Ireland economy is much greater than its contribution through inward investment."