Date:01/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/01/stories/2006110103990500.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

South Australia, Tamil Nadu forge sister-state agreement

Staff Reporter

The pact will make two States a part of each other's development: Mike Rann The pact will make two States part of each other's development: Mike Rann

SHARING A POINT: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi with South Australian Premier Mike Rann in Chennai on Monday. — Photo: V. Ganesan

CHENNAI: South Australia and Tamil Nadu on Monday forged a sister-state agreement, which the visiting South Australian Premier Mike Rann said will make them part of each other's development.

"Tamil Nadu will be part of our history and development as South Australia will be yours," he told presspersons hours after signing the agreement and meeting Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

It is only the third such agreement that South Australia has entered into and the first with any State of India. One of the main reasons for choosing Tamil Nadu is the enormous business opportunities and cooperation in various areas.

They include the ability of Tamil Nadu to meet the demand for skilled workers, especially in information technology and engineering. Mr. Rann, who is accompanied by a 40-member delegation, half of whose representatives are from trade and industry, said South Australia was making a major pitch to secure more migrants. "We need more skilled workers ... [as we are] on a cusp of a major mining boom and the economy is strong," the Premier declared. The Australian state was embarking on a major expansion of the mines. It was looking for people in high-end software engineering and biotechnology. Mining, he added, was one field in which the State also expected Indian companies to evince interest considering the business potential. Chinese companies in the fields associated with mining had set up offices in South Australia, while those from the U.K. and other countries were evincing interest.

An official release issued by the Government of South Australia on the sister-state agreement said education, industry and business, tourism and sport were among the varied sectors in which the two States would work together for mutual economic and cultural benefit.