“We are pleased to partner with Ontario on this tremendous opportunity to tell Prince Edward Island’s story to a fast-growing and vitally important market,” the Premier said. “It is a chance for Canada’s largest and smallest provinces to work together in increasing trade and investment that promises to help grow both of our economies.”

Between January 31 and February 6, the Premier will meet with key Federal Ministers and Chief Ministers in New Delhi, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. The PEI delegation will also meet with business and education leaders in each city. The goal is to pursue markets in India for Island companies and institutions while also promoting Prince Edward Island as a place for Indian companies to expand into North America.

The mission will confirm recent Indian business investments in Prince Edward Island and generate new investment leads – as well as encouraging new applications to the Start-Up Visa program through launchpadpei.com. This mission will focus on cultivating relationships with India in the areas of renewable energy, sustainable development, food products and post-secondary education. It is part of ongoing efforts to promote goods, services, and expertise from Prince Edward Island in India and other emerging markets.

Four entities – Aspin Kemp and Associates, Coles Associates, Portsmouth Atlantic, and the University of Prince Edward Island – will accompany the Premier and Economic Development and Tourism Minister Heath MacDonald. The delegation includes companies and institutions looking to increase exports and identify opportunities related to water and air purification, hybrid power generation, engineering infrastructure and post-secondary education.

“More than 20 percent of our student body is international and we recruit students from emerging markets such as India,” said Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz , President and Vice- Chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island. "While on this mission we will market UPEI to four new cities as a destination university for Design Engineering, Actuarial and Computational Science, Business, and Digital Technologies.”

Island businesses will have the opportunity to explore new joint ventures, sales, student recruitment and memorandums of understanding with Indian companies and institutions, particularly in the Province’s emerging industries.

“We are interested in pursuing joint ventures and partners in India in the energy and renewable sectors, particularly in the marine, power conversion, smart grid, energy efficiency, and energy storage and technology areas,” said Ravi Naidu, director of Finance for Aspin Kemp and Associates. “The mission will also be an opportunity to identify potential business partners in not only India, but Ontario as well.”

Backgrounder

Objectives of the Ontario-Prince Edward Island trade mission to India are:

• Strengthen relations between Prince Edward Island and India by building and deepening partnerships with governments, businesses, and educational institutions;

• Support Island exporters and educational institutions in further developing their interests in India;

• Promote Prince Edward Island as a destination for Indian companies who wish to expand into North America;

• Emphasize that Prince Edward Island is a leader in renewable energy, Canada’s Food Island, and home to growing sectors in aerospace, information technology, advanced manufacturing, financial services, marine technology, and bioscience; and

• Promote the Island as a great place to live, work, and play that has a diverse and rich culture, natural beauty, and a distinctive way of life.

Participating companies and institutions:

Aspin Kemp & Associates (AKA) is a systems integration company. AKA’s highly skilled team is dedicated to developing and delivering leading edge technologies and cost-effective applications to their worldwide client base. AKA specializes in developing, manufacturing, installing, supporting and maintaining engineering solutions. AKA’s primary markets are in the marine and offshore oil and gas industries. AKA operates internationally with offices in Montague and Stratford, Prince Edward Island, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Houston, Texas and Singapore.

Coles Associates Ltd. was founded in 1959 and has grown into a multi-disciplinary professional firm delivering project management, construction management, and prime consulting, architectural and engineering services, including architecture and civil, municipal, structural, mechanical, process, electrical, and transportation engineering. Coles has established a solid record of performance in providing consulting, architectural, and/or engineering services throughout Canada and around the world. Coles Associates has worked on five continents and fifteen different countries, including USA, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Poland, China, India, South Africa and others. Coles is dedicated to providing solutions that create value for their clients in today's dynamic business environment.

Portsmouth Atlantic is an engineering company based in Atlantic Canada focused on the defence and marine industries. Portsmouth Atlantic is a dedicated centre of excellence for marine technologies for the Portsmouth Group of companies. Based in Canada, the company has eight decades of experience in the global defence domain, providing quality turn-key solutions from concept through engineering design, manufacturing, implementation and support. Portsmouth Atlantic provides operator solutions for clean air, clean water, storage, shipping, and weapons handling/ integration. Backed by strong global supply chain expertise, Portsmouth Atlantic is ideally poised for global growth.

The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) was established in 1969 and has four faculties (arts, education, science, and veterinary medicine) and two schools (business and nursing). UPEI offers a wide range of programs and degrees to approximately 4,300 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students and is home to thirteen funded research chairs (including a Canada Excellence Research Chair in Aquatic Epidemiology) and five 3M Teaching Award-winners. International students from over 60 countries comprise more than 20 percent of the university’s student population. In 2016, UPEI will open its newest school of Sustainable Design Engineering.