Orange produce 'front and centre' in meetings with Indian government

The Orange City Councillor will visit India on Monday to meet with senior government officials and spruik industry in our region.

Meetings will be held in New Dehi and could include prime minister Narendra Modi, alongside the majority of his cabinet.

"Orange and the Central Western region will be front and centre," Cr Whitton told the Central Western Daily.

"There's 1.5 billion people ... they know our reputation for quality wines and produce around the region.

"It's a two way street; they have they have things to offer Australia, and certainly we have many things that India would be interested in from a relationship point of view."'

The trip is not connected to Orange City Council, and was organsied through Indian Minister of Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan.

"He wants me to meet a few people and have a chat to see what we can instigate from a relationship point of view, business to business, country to country," Cr Whitton said.

"He would be really interested in growing a sister city relationship with the area that he that he's a member of and our region in Orange."

In April, 2023 Cr Whitton was appointed Australian Country President to the Economic Council of India (ECO).

The ECO is a strategic think tank with seven divisions across the globe. Its stated goal is to foster non-violence through creation of a "peace economy."

"This organisation has a focus on doing business with countries that support free democracy, democracies, freedom of speech ... there is also a very big focus on renewables as well as green energy and protecting the planet," Mr Whitton said at the time.