County Delegation on its Way to India (PHOTO)
En route to India leading an economic development mission, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and First Lady Catherine Leggett ascend Burj Khalifa in Dubai,the tallest structure in the world at 2,716 feet and over 160 stories.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is hoping to broaden Montgomery County’s reach in biotech and other high-tech areas as he leads a delegation of two dozen County businessmen and businesswomen to India this month.
Among those joining Leggett are Maryland State Delegate Aruna Miller, Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Floreen, Montgomery College President Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard, Global LifeSci Development Corporation executive vice president Jonathan Genn, President & CEO of the India-US World Affairs Institute Vinod Jain, and former White House communications director Ann Lewis.
“India is the most populous democracy on Earth, has the twelfth largest economy, and ranks fourth in purchasing power,” said Leggett, who several years ago accompanied Governor Martin O’Malley on a State economic development trip to India. “India has vast human and natural resources and the tens of thousands of Indians who live in Montgomery County are a natural connection to business and investment opportunities of mutual benefit.”
The India delegation begins in Hyderabad before proceeding to New Delhi, Raipur, Agra, Amritsar, and Mumbai and Bangalore.
According to county officials, highlights of the trip include:
In Hyderabad, County officials are scheduled to sign an agreement making Hyderabad the latest in a series of Montgomery County “Sister Cities,” a program established by community leaders under the nonprofit Montgomery Sister Cities in 2008. Previous Sister City partners include Morazan, El Salvador; Gondar, Ethoipia; and Xi’an, China. Delegate Miller is originally from Hyderabad.
Also in Hyderabad, Leggett and the delegation plan to visit the US Pharmacopeia India, the Indian branch of the Montgomery County-based company, and also hold meetings at IKP Knowledge Park – India’s “Genome Valley.”
In New Delhi, Leggett and the delegation are set to participate in the international, two-day India-U.S. Technology Summit, which includes hundreds of Indian companies and government agencies involved in life sciences, cybersecurity, information technology and renewable energy.
In Bangalore, the delegation plans to visit the facilities of bio and high tech companies Syngene, Infosys, and Strand Life Sciences, all companies doing business in or with Montgomery County.
During the trip Dr. Pollard and Montgomery College are expected to sign a collaboration agreement between the Global Institute of Humanities at Montgomery College and Jindal Global University.
On the cultural side, the delegation is scheduled to visit the Taj Mahal and the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site for the Sikh religion.
According to a county news release, Leggett will also visit Taiwan November 22-25 for talks on information technology and biotech investment in the first-ever County trade trip there on his way back to the United States.
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