Metro

Saturday October 24, 2009

Indians keen to set up English centre


A TEAM from the English and Foreign Langua-ges University (EFLU) from India will be in Penang to discuss the possibility of setting up an English language centre in Penang.

High Commissioner of India to Malaysia Ashok K. Kantha said the EFLU which has its main campus in Hyderabad, India, offered the programme to students from some 100 countries.

“We have also set up centres in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

“We are now discussing with the Pe- nang Government to set up a centre here,” he told reporters after the opening of the seminar ‘ASEAN – India FTA (Free Trade Agreement) in Goods: Emerging Opportu- nities for Enhanced Malaysia – India Busi- ness Engagement’ at the Gurney Hotel yesterday.

Lim shaking hands with participants at the seminar.

Ashok also said the initial discussions with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Deputy Chief Minister (II) Dr P. Ramasamy were already under way.

Dr Ramasamy said the state had shortlisted two local institutions where the centre could be set up.

He added that there was a demand for such a centre as most of the multi-nationals here were looking for workers who are well-versed in English.

Lim, in his opening speech, asked Indian businessmen to invest in Penang, particularly in information technology, biotechnology and education sectors.

“We have the political stability, first class physical infrastructure, skilled, multi-lingual and multi-cultural workforce and a shared cultural heritage,” he said.

Lim later launched the ‘Doing Business in India: Handbook for Malaysian Business’ publication at the event.

Also present were Malaysia India Business Council (MIBC) president Datuk Krishnan Tan and state executive councillor Abdul Malik Abul Kassim.

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Star Metro on Facebook Star Metro on Twitter