Canadian Mayor to lead trade mission to SL

3 March 2017 04:38 pm

John Tory, the Mayor of Toronto, Canada, is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka as a part of a 10-day South Asian trip which would commence from March 15, the Star reported on Thursday.

The article published on ‘the Star’ website said Toronto is paying for the Mayor, two city councillors and four city staff, while about 20 delegates from Toronto’s business and academic communities will be paying their own way.

The trade delegation is also scheduled to visit Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad in India.

The mayor will be attempting to lure offices and jobs to Toronto and promote trade between local firms and South Asian companies, with a focus on film, education, finance and innovation.

Tory, it says, is visiting Sri Lanka “to learn more about where the Tamil community is from, why they left Sri Lanka, postwar developments, economic opportunities and to visit places of cultural interest to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka,”

Toronto is home to the largest Tamil-speaking population outside of Sri Lanka.