Published on: Friday, December 16, 2011

By Gov. Martin O'Malley

Earlier this month, together with a delegation of more than 100 Marylanders, First Lady O’Malley and I led a historic trade mission to India. It was our state’s largest-ever economic development mission, and the first trade mission to India ever led by a sitting Maryland governor. Our delegation included business leaders, leaders from our universities and community colleges, county executives — including County Executive Rushern Baker — and several delegates.

Over the course of our trip, we signed a number of business deals that will help us create jobs for Marylanders, expand our fast-growing, high-potential industries like health care and information technology, and strengthen our relationships with our neighbors in India.

We forged several deals between Prince George’s County-based businesses and Indian companies. TripleStone Real Estate, a real estate development and management company based in National Harbor, signed an agreement with a Mumbai-based investor to partner on future hospitality and medical office projects here in Prince George’s County.

The Greenbelt-based management consulting firm ANGARAI — one of Prince George’s County’s fastest-growing small businesses — signed an agreement with India-based CI, a technology product development company, to pursue opportunities in mobile and web applications, and potentially open an office in Maryland.

And Jasco Nutri Foods, an India-based manufacturer and exporter of organic foods, has agreed to invest $10 million to open a new facility in Maryland. The plans for the location will be finalized over the next two months, but we expect the new facility to generate up to 100 jobs when it’s up and running.

Every business paid its own way to travel with us on the mission because they understood the tremendous opportunities available to grow their businesses in India. All told, we brought home close to $60 million in deals with Indian companies. And that’s just the beginning of the benefits we can achieve when we strengthen our ties to India — one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Last year, India was Maryland’s 12th largest export market — up from 18th just six years ago. Maryland businesses exported $192 million of goods and services to India so far this year, up 18 percent from 2010. And India’s needs continue to grow. In fact, in the next five years alone, India will invest $1.7 trillion in infrastructure. The country will construct 12,500 miles of roads, 12 new port/container projects and 25 new “Greenfield” airports, and India will generate 150,000 MW of new power plant capacity. All these projects mean one thing for Maryland businesses: continued opportunities to expand and create jobs for Marylanders.

And for Indian companies like Jasco Nutri Foods, there is no better place than Maryland to invest and create jobs. No other state in America has the same combination of location, workforce and world-class facilities. Our public schools rank No. 1 in the country, we have the most Ph.D. scientists and engineers per capita and we are home to 27 technology incubators, including an international incubator.

Maryland is a great place to live, work and do business. And through economic development missions like the one we just completed, we can get the word out to investors and businesses around the world.

As our world continues to grow more interconnected, and as technology allows us to exchange goods, services and knowledge faster than ever, we have more opportunities than ever before to grow by partnering with our neighbors in India and around the world.

One of the things that make our state great is our outreach and trade with peoples around the world. It is our legacy, it is our tradition, and it is our history. And it is the best way for us to move forward, create jobs and build a better future for our kids.