December 14, 2012 - A business delegation organised by CII has embarked on a journey to the United States to explore commercial opportunities for collaboration and to learn from international best practices. The delegation, led by Waseem Trumboo, Chairman of CII Jammu & Kashmir State Council and Executive Director of Trumboo Industries Pvt Ltd, comprises of young business leaders that own or operate small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) across a wide spectrum of industries.

While many companies have diversified interests, the major thrust areas of the delegation are hydroelectric power generation infrastructure, tourism management and food processing. In pursuit of their interests, the delegation is visiting Washington DC, New York, California and Colorado from 10-17, December 2012.

Echoing the enthusiasm of the delegates, Mr Trumboo said, "This is the first ever business delegation we are bringing from Jammu and Kashmir. Young entrepreneurs in the State are ready to look out for promoting international trade, expansions, partnerships and learn from various technological advancements that exist globally. The idea is to promote growth of our local economy and this step will go long way in that direction. This also speaks volumes about how drastically the entrepreneurial spirit as well as the industrial environment is changing in the state."

The gross domestic product of the State of Jammu & Kashmir was US$ 9 billion in 2009-10 compared to US$ 6 billion in 2004-05, amounting to a Compounded Annual Growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6%. While agriculture recorded a growth of 5.3%, secondary and tertiary sectors experienced double-digit growth. Secondary sector grew at a CAGR of 12.4%, driven primarily by manufacturing, construction and electricity, gas and water supply and the tertiary sector grew at 10.8% in the same period. Tourism along with horticulture, floriculture, sericulture and handicrafts are the key industries in Jammu & Kashmir, but the true business potential of setting up tourism infrastructure or food processing units in the state remains untapped.

"The delegation to the United States is a welcome step that will help the growth of entrepreneurial culture in Jammu and Kashmir. We are also planning to take similar business development and learning delegations to Germany, Switzerland, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Australia in next 2-3 years," said Mr Sheikh Imran, Director, Kashmir SunSilk Industries Pvt Ltd.

The delegation underpins CII's ongoing commitment to strengthening US-India bilateral economic relations, particularly through helping SMEs explore learning and partnership opportunities, and providing a boost to economies of emerging states and connecting them to regional clusters.