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The Victorian Premier, Ted Baillieu, is leading the state's biggest ever Government trade mission to India today.
Mr Baillieu will be joined by representatives from more than 300 Victorian companies, as well as several key ministers.
The week-long mission will include companies from the IT, automotive, aviation, tourism and education sectors.
The delegation will visit key cities including Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
The trade mission comes as Victoria faces job cuts in the banking, manufacturing and aviation sectors.
As he was leaving, the Premier said the aim of the trip is to create jobs and boost Victoria's trade relations with India.
"We have said many times that we have to maintain budget capacity, we have to focus on productivity and we have to grow our markets," he said.
"China and india and our near neighbours are our markets of the future.
"That's been demonstrated over the recent years. There's a huge opportunity to grow these markets."
Professor Amitabh Mattoo from the Australia-India Institute at the University of Melbourne is also going, and says it is an important opportunity to build stronger relationships with India.
"Despite having so much in common there's been very little conversation in real terms between the two counties," he said.
"There are already strong relations between India and Australia economically but I think much more than the commercial relationship, we should think in terms of how important it is for the two countries to understand each other."
The mission is also aimed at attracting more Indian students to Victoria.
Senior representatives from all of Victoria's universities as well as many TAFE's and private colleges will be joining the mission to India.
There was a well-publicised drop in the number of Indian students in Australia in 2010, driven by the high Australian dollar and incidents of violence against Indian students, mostly in Melbourne.
Despite the drop, estimated to be around 30 per cent, around 30,000 Indian students were enrolled in courses in Victoria, making up 46 per cent of all of the Indian students in Australia.
Professor Mattoo says the perception that Melbourne was "unsafe" for Indian students has not damaged Victoria's reputation in the long term.
"I think Victoria was always safe for Indian students," he said.
"Those incidents were isolated. But what is also true is that we don't have an understanding of each other and when there's very little conversation, even a single issue can derail ties."
"I think 'brand Victoria' stands on its own merit but I think this delegation and the number of people who are going there will make it stronger."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-20/education2c-exports-on-agenda-for-indian-trade-mission/3839220/?site=melbourne
Mr Baillieu will be joined by representatives from more than 300 Victorian companies, as well as several key ministers.
The week-long mission will include companies from the IT, automotive, aviation, tourism and education sectors.
The delegation will visit key cities including Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
The trade mission comes as Victoria faces job cuts in the banking, manufacturing and aviation sectors.
As he was leaving, the Premier said the aim of the trip is to create jobs and boost Victoria's trade relations with India.
"We have said many times that we have to maintain budget capacity, we have to focus on productivity and we have to grow our markets," he said.
"China and india and our near neighbours are our markets of the future.
"That's been demonstrated over the recent years. There's a huge opportunity to grow these markets."
Professor Amitabh Mattoo from the Australia-India Institute at the University of Melbourne is also going, and says it is an important opportunity to build stronger relationships with India.
"Despite having so much in common there's been very little conversation in real terms between the two counties," he said.
"There are already strong relations between India and Australia economically but I think much more than the commercial relationship, we should think in terms of how important it is for the two countries to understand each other."
The mission is also aimed at attracting more Indian students to Victoria.
Senior representatives from all of Victoria's universities as well as many TAFE's and private colleges will be joining the mission to India.
There was a well-publicised drop in the number of Indian students in Australia in 2010, driven by the high Australian dollar and incidents of violence against Indian students, mostly in Melbourne.
Despite the drop, estimated to be around 30 per cent, around 30,000 Indian students were enrolled in courses in Victoria, making up 46 per cent of all of the Indian students in Australia.
Professor Mattoo says the perception that Melbourne was "unsafe" for Indian students has not damaged Victoria's reputation in the long term.
"I think Victoria was always safe for Indian students," he said.
"Those incidents were isolated. But what is also true is that we don't have an understanding of each other and when there's very little conversation, even a single issue can derail ties."
"I think 'brand Victoria' stands on its own merit but I think this delegation and the number of people who are going there will make it stronger."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-20/education2c-exports-on-agenda-for-indian-trade-mission/3839220/?site=melbourne
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