Jammu and Kashmir business team explores ties with US ski resorts

Washington, Dec 14 (IANS) A Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) business delegation from Jammu and Kashmir has explored ski resorts and sister-city potential with the popular US ski destination of Aspen, Colorado.

The delegation led by Waseem Trumboo, Director Trumboo Industries Pvt Ltd, was welcomed Thursday by the former mayor of Aspen, Helen Kalin Klanderud, who commended CII for bringing the first ever delegation from Jammu & Kashmir.

“I hope their visit was as rewarding and informational to them as it was to us A warm welcome awaits any future Indian visitors,” she remarked, according to a CII media release.

Looking at the well-developed tourism infrastructure in Aspen, Trumboo said, “Aspen is a great tourist destination with outdoor adventures from skiing to biking, quite similar to the Kashmir valley.

“We have so much to learn from this place in terms of developing the necessary infrastructure for places like Gulmarg and Sonmarg.”

The delegates also met representatives from the Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA), who briefed them about the business climate of the city.

Both sides expressed interest in encouraging collaboration, and also explored options for developing a sister-city type relationship between Kashmir and Aspen, CII said.

Aspen currently has several sister-city relationships around the world, including with theFrench ski area of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.

The delegation plans to pursue this concept further in consultation with State and City officials in Jammu and Kashmir, which will allow them to develop a friendly and meaningful exchange of ideas, people, products and services in business, cultural, educational, youth, sports, municipal, professional and technical projects.

In Denver, the delegation met with representatives of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and the World Trade Centre Denver to discuss the specifics of starting a business in the state.

Outlining the support channels available to new business ventures, the local officials offered their assistance to delegation members looking to make investments in Colorado.

Each side was also very interested in learning about the other region’s commercial strengths to identify areas of future collaboration, CII said.

—Indo-Asian News Service

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IANS 2012-12-14 20:06:06