Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Nov 7: Jammu & Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO), as part of its endeavors towards facilitating entrepreneurs with vital market linkages and opportunities on both domestic and international fronts, participated in World Food India (WFI) held at Pragati Maidan, here.
The JKTPO, in an endeavor to actualize the vision of Government of Jammu and Kashmir of providing market linkages to entrepreneurs of the UT, participated as the “Focus State” in the ‘World Food India 2023’ event and facilitated participation of 24 exhibitors from the region. This engagement was aimed at enhancing market exposure and connecting these exhibitors with a diverse audience of international and domestic buyers and customers.
The ‘World Food India 2023’ event, now in its second edition, was inaugurated at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The event’s primary objective was to position India as the ‘food basket of the world’ and celebrate 2023 as the International Year of Millets. During the address, Narendra Modi highlighted the unique agricultural and horticulture products being exported from India, including black garlic from Himachal Pradesh, dragon fruit from Jammu & Kashmir, soya milk powder from Madhya Pradesh, and more.
The exhibitors from J&K showcased wide variety of authentic GI tagged and high quality food products from Jammu and Kashmir before the buyers from different parts of the country and globe. The products displayed by the exhibitors included Apples, Walnuts, Red Chillies, Kidney beans, Honey, Lavender oil, Mushkbudji, Lemon grass oil, Saffron, Dragon fruit and other processed food products which are famous not only in India but across the world for their unique selling points.
Jammu and Kashmir also actively participated in knowledge sessions alongside Gujarat, Netherlands, Ministry of Aayush, Punjab and others. The main theme of J&K’s sessions centred around ‘Women Leadership in J&K,’ during which seven women entrepreneurs from the region shared their experiences in their business ventures besides elaborating the role of technology in their entrepreneurial journeys.
Notably, during the Business-to-Government (B2G) and Government-to-Government (G2G) meetings, prominent figures and leaders from the business world, such as Sharaf-ud-din Sharaf, Vice Chairman of Sharaf Group UAE, Yusuf Tambawala, Vice President of Ghassan Aboud Group UAE, Salim VI, Chief Operating Officer of Lulu Group UAE, Do Duy Khanh, First Secretary at the Embassy of Vietnam, Ranjeet Kohli, CEO & Executive Director of Britannia, Vivek Chandra, CEO of LT Foods, Sanjay Singanai, Vice President of Haldiram, Kaif Siddiqui, General Manager of Godrej Tyson, and other high-ranking executives participated, fostering meaningful collaborations.
JKTPO’s active involvement in World Food India 2023 further demonstrated the region’s commitment towards promoting its diverse and abundant culinary offerings, creating opportunities for trade, investment and global connectivity.