Regional Councillor Joe Li with India’s Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal Smt Mamata Banerjee &Canadian Trade Commissioner Arjun Kumar Dutta

Regional Councillor Joe Li recently met with India’s Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal Smt Mamata Banerjee and Canadian Trade Commissioner Arjun Kumar Dutta representing the City of Markham at the inauguration of the 2017 Bengal Global Business Summit.  RC Joe Li had received a special invitation by the West Bengal Government to discuss new business opportunities and strengthen trade and investment due to West Bengal’s rapid growth and development.

As a result of the City of Markham’s previous 2016 India Trade Mission, West Bengal’s RAD 365 launched an office in the City of Markham later that same year. RAD 365 is an IT service provider delivering Software solutions, Teleradiology, Knowledge Processing & Data Analytics solutions to the healthcare industry and is located in Bidhannagar’s high tech district located just outside Kolkata, West Bengal, INDIA.

Regional Councillor Joe Li is the first Indian elected to both the City of Markham and the Regional Municipality of York in October 2010 and first Indian Chinese Hakka elected to hold public office in Canada.   He was re-elected in 2014 and presently serves as the Chairperson for Markham Transportation Committee, Vice-Chair for York Region Economic Development and Planning, York Region Director for the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, and Board of Director of PowerStream,

Approximately 10,000 strong Hakka Chinese community in the City of Markham who are well connected to Kolkata through cultural and business ties.  Over 300 Hakka residents from the Markham joined RC Joe Li during the 2016 India Trade Mission in Kolkata to welcome the City of Markham`s Mayor Scarpitti, Members of Council, and delegates and to also celebrate the Chinese New Year in Kolkata, INDIA.  RC Joe Li is excited with the India business trade missions as it provides an official platform between the cities of Kolkata & Markham.