CHARLOTTETOWN -- An Indian software company plans to open its first North American sales office on Prince Edward Island this spring, creating between five and 10 jobs, the provincial government says.
Aark Infosoft, which employs 250 people and is based in Ahmedebad, specializes in enterprise solutions, electronic commerce and website applications.
The province's announcement came Wednesday as part of a trade mission to India that includes Premier Wade MacLauchlan and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.
The company's decision to set up shop in P.E.I. came after it was recently awarded a contract to digitize the library owned by a U.S.-based publisher, the province said.
The announcement comes almost four years after a similar trade mission to India -- led by then premier Robert Ghiz -- resulted in a pledge from Indian IT firm MphasiS to establish an office on the Island and create 300 jobs by 2014.
Government spokesman Brad Chatfield confirmed Thursday the MphasiS operation currently employs four people.
The P.E.I. government has also announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian Nectar Products that will see the company sending P.E.I. apples to markets in India and Asia.
The announcements were made after MacLauchlan and Wynne met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of their week-long trade mission.
The P.E.I. government's statement said the Island's delegation met with government and business leaders in New Delhi and the city of Chandigarh.
Meetings are scheduled in the cities of Hyderabad and Mumbai before the trip wraps up on Saturday.
"We have taken important strides with these face-to-face meetings and look forward to pursuing these opportunities and relationships," MacLauchlan said in the statement.
