Actor Sunil Shetty visits Ireland House to mark the commencement of services

Ireland House is the new home for the Consulate General of Ireland, Mumbai and Ireland’s Trade and Investment agencies in India – Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. Sunil Shetty joined Team Ireland to help mark the occasion of the commencement of services from Ireland House, Mumbai. The visit from Sunil Shetty, renowned actor, producer and business man, provided the perfect opportunity to showcase the new premises and to promote the work of Team Ireland.

While Ireland’s trade and investment agencies have been active in India for over a decade the recent establishment of the Consulate General in Mumbai was an opportunity to bring all of Ireland’s trade, investment, education promotion and consular services together under one roof in an ‘Ireland House’ setting – a one-stop-shop for all things Irish in the commercial capital of India.

“We are delighted that, despite a lengthy lockdown delay, we’ve finally been able to realise the vision of all parts of Team Ireland working together in Ireland House. While each agency has their own section, we will be able to collaborate more effectively in this setting and for those interested in Ireland it offers the opportunity to come to one place to find out all that Ireland and Irish companies have to offer. In these challenging times, this reflects a significant investment and a vote of confidence in the continued development of closer ties between Ireland and India. We hope that Ireland House will become the centre of Irish business, trade, culture and community in Mumbai” Gerry Kelly, the Consul General of Ireland remarked.

During the visit the team took the opportunity to tell Sunil Shetty about the opportunities for filming in Ireland. With a magnificent variety of landscapes all within close proximity, a 32% tax credit, highly skilled workforce and excellent post-production facilities, Ireland is a very attractive country in which to film. “While Ek Tha Tiger is probably the best known Indian film to be shot in Ireland Indian viewers will also have seen Irish locations in Star Wars – The Last Jedi; Game of Thrones; Normal People; and Vikings; – we’d love to encourage more Indian productions to film in Ireland” commented the Deputy CG Alison Reilly.

Abhinav Bhatia, Director of Enterprise Ireland, India & South Asia, commented: “There are several Enterprise Ireland client companies like Skillsoft, Olive Group, Glanbia, Aerogen, and WorkHuman which are already active in the market. In the past few months, we have seen an increased interest among Irish companies looking to enter India, so setting up of ‘Ireland house’ will give these companies confidence to take the plunge. Also, being co-located with other Irish government agencies will help us take advantage of each other’s strengths.”

Tanaz Buhariwalla, Director of IDA Ireland, Indian Sub-continent, commented: “An increasing number of Indian companies have offices in Ireland and are growing their presence there.  This includes the likes of Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HCL, Wockhardt, SMT, BrowserStack and NIIT.  Ireland’s pro-business government, it’s membership of the EU, the skillset and cluster of companies available in Ireland continue to draw more companies to consider a presence in Ireland. Since Brexit, we have seen an increased interest among Indian companies looking to trade seamlessly with the EU through Ireland.  We have also seen a number of the Indian companies we work with partnering with Irish companies. Working in ‘Ireland House’ with other Irish government agencies will undoubtedly benefit us all and the companies we work with.”

To ensure all Covid precautions were taken stylish branded Ireland face masks were supplied and physical distancing was maintained at all times during the visit.