September 9, 2015
The City of Toronto and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to engage in mutual co-operation and advance their common interests in the creative screen industries in Toronto and India. Mayor John Tory and Akhilesh Mishra, the Consul General of India in Toronto, signed the document.
"This agreement will help Toronto to access and collaborate with the Indian film industry, the largest producer of films in the world," said Mayor John Tory. "This agreement will stimulate economic trade and investment in both countries. Toronto’s film industry does better each and every year – this will help us continue that trend and keep us on top."
"The MOU will open new avenues of opportunity for Toronto’s large and dynamic Indian community as well as our film production industry,” said Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the Economic Development Committee. “I look forward to the time when Indian productions are made in Toronto.”
"I would like to applaud the visionary and dynamic leadership of Mayor John Tory, Councillor Thompson and Zaib Shaikh, the City's Film Commissioner and Director of Entertainment Industries, for their efforts to initiate the MOU with the Indian Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry for co-operation in the fields of film, television, visual effects and gaming,” said Mishra. "This is a significant development in the spirit of the India-Canada audio-visual co-production agreement signed in February 2014. I believe the MOU signed today will catalyze co-operation not only between our film industries, but also strengthen ties of culture, tourism and friendship between peoples of India and Canada."
The creative screen industries include location and studio production, post-production, visual effects, animation and interactive/digital media. Toronto is the first municipality in Canada to sign an agreement stemming from an audio-visual, co-production treaty established in 2014 between the governments of Canada and India.
The agreement's main purpose is to foster business partnerships, linkages and exchanges that will act as a catalyst for new investment and knowledge sharing opportunities. Both parties have also agreed to provide assistance or any facilities necessary for trade missions, summits, seminars, festivals and other similar activities.
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit
http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.
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