West Bengal products on China shelves

By: ​Udit Mukherji
KUNMING (China): Bengal products will now be found in Chinese markets — courtesy an MoU between Biswa Bangla Corporation and Haohong Logistics Corporation, a unit of the billion Yuan Haohong Group.
It is likely to usher in two-way trade at a time when Chinese products have a huge market in India. Biswa Bangla Corporation, developed by the Mamata Banerjee government, will have a permanent stall at Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, to showcase Bengal products.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Yunnan governor Chen Hao, union minister of state for external affairs V K Singh and Bengal finance and industries minister Amit Mitra. The Haohong Group has allotted a 100 sq m area in its industrial park, Mitra said, adding: “Bengal handicrafts will now be available in China. This is a major step.”
The West Bengal tourism department also expects better inflow of Chinese tourists to Bengal following an MoU with the Yunnan provincial tourism corporation. The agreement was signed after chairman of West Bengal chapter, Indian Tour Operators Association, Debajit Dutta made a presentation on Bengal tourism. “The Chinese are great travellers. They travel in large groups. We want to capture the market. We have invited 20 top tour operators from China to visit Bengal soon,” Dutta said. Another MOU was signed between MSME Technology Centre and Kunming SME financial transaction service, which will act as the backbone for SME infrastructure in Bengal, said state MSME secretary Rajiva Sinha.
Earlier Kunming governor expressed interest in setting up an industrial park in Bengal which he feels should strengthen relationship with Yunnan. “Kolkata and Kunming should have more co-operation as sister cities,” he added. Chen Hao stressed on the need for expediting the ‘BCIM’ corridor involving Bangladesh, China, India, and Myanmar, connecting Kolkata and Kunming.
Mitra later said that the Yunnan governor has agreed to send a strong investor delegation to the next Bengal global business summit. Mitra urged Yunnan investors to invest in the upcoming Bengal townships, one of the pet projects of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. “China is strong in building infrastructure. We are building 22 smart cities on private public partnership. I would request Chinese companies to invest here. Yunnan is very strong in food processing and cold storage infrastructure. We would require investment in these sectors as well,” he added.
Mayank Jalan, MD of Keventer Group, made a presentation on the scope of food processing industry in Bengal. Rajiva Sinha had given a presentation on the scope of co-operation in the MSME segment.