Ireland wooing Indian enterprises

CHANDIGARH - Ireland is “the safest gateway” for Indian corporates to enter the European market and is ready to provide “any kind of help” to Indian investors, a diplomat from that country said here Tuesday.

“Ireland offers a congenial environment for Indian businesses to thrive by providing the safest gateway to enter European market,” Ireland’s Ambassador to India Kenneth Thompson said.

“Presently there is 500-million-euro ($705 million) trade between India and Ireland and still there is a tremendous scope to enhance our bilateral trade,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a business meet organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Thompson said Indians are the largest immigrant group in Ireland with a good presence in the fields of education, medicine and IT.

“We are specifically looking for entrepreneurs from India, particularly from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. We are ready to provide any kind of help to make their ventures successful,” he said.

India’s exports to Ireland account for nearly 63 percent of the bilateral trade driven by products like yarn, garment and drugs. The country imports telecom products, sound equipment, automatic data processing machines and other manufactured products from Ireland.

While highlighting the benefits of doing trade with Ireland, Thompson said there was low corporate tax, availability of tax allowance for purchased property and highly skilled and English speaking workforce.