World Trade Center Mumbai signed MoU with the Portugal-India Business Hub (PIBHub) to facilitate trade, investment, tourism, cultural and education exchange between both the countries. The MoU was signed on the sidelines of an interactive meeting with Portugal delegation in WTC Mumbai led by PIBHub.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Altino Alvares, President, PIBHub mentioned, “India-Portugal relations is more than five centuries old and around 3-6% of the Portuguese people are of Indian origin. Many Indian companies such as Tech Mahindra, TCS and Aurobindo Pharma have presence in Portugal. Many Portugal MSMEs are keen to partner with Indian companies to grow their business. I am confident that through this MoU we can deepen our trade and investment relations. I suggest Indian companies to explore business in Portugal as it can be the gateway to Europe, Africa and South America."

Earlier in his welcome remarks, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai remarked, “India and Portugal cherish friendly political relations and we are like one family. Portugal is a major exporter of cork, port wine, chemicals, plastics, minerals, aluminium products and so on. Portuguese also has strong tourism and maritime sectors. The current bilateral trade is hardly USD 1.4 billion and we have tremendous opportunity to double this trade volume in the coming years. Golden Visa is an effective tool to promote our business relations as Indians are the fifth largest holder of Portuguese Golden Visa.”

Speaking on this occasion, Capt. Somesh Batra, Honorary Consul General of Portugal in Mumbai and also the Vice Chairman of WTC Mumbai remarked, “Portugal is one of the best places to do business in Europe as the economy is growing at 2.4%, double the rate of the European economy. The country has competitive advantage in infrastructure, renewable energy, textile, tourism, defence, aerospace, electronics, startups, agriculture and other sectors.”

In her remarks, Ms. Nicole Fernandes, Chief Representative of Portugal’s largest state-owned bank CGD Group in India informed that her bank has a history dating back to 1876 and it has operations in 19 countries across four continents. Ms. Fernandes assured to meet the financial needs of Indian companies looking to expand their business presence in Portugal or collaborate with Portugal companies.

Ms. Rupa Naik, Executive Director, WTC Mumbai proposed vote of thanks for the event. Ms. Naik remarked, “This event served as a great opportunity for companies from Portuguese and India to network and explore new business opportunities. Olive oil is a key focus of this event as Portugal is the sixth largest producer of this healthy product and it produces one of the highest quality olive oil in the world. India imports USD 360,000 worth olive oil annually from Portuguese.”

During the event, business delegation from Portuguese representing Olive Oil, engineering goods and other products engaged in fruitful networking with Indian business delegates to explore areas of collaborations in distribution, retail, manufacturing and other forms of joint venture.

Headline Image: (from left to right): Ms. Rupa Naik, Executive Director, WTC Mumbai, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai, Mr. Altino Alvares, President, Portugal-India Business Hub (PIBHub), Capt. Somesh Batra, Hon. Consul of Portugal in Mumbai and Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai and Ms. Nicole Fernandes, Chief Representative, CGD Group

Promotional Image: Capt. Somesh Batra, Hon. Consul of Portugal in Mumbai and Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai (4^th from left) exchanging MoU with Mr. Altino Alvares, President, Portugal-India Business Hub (PIBHub). Also seen in the photograph (from left to right): Ms. Rupa Naik, Executive Director, WTC Mumbai and Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai