NEW DELHI - Mexican President Felipe Calderon visited India's technology hub of Bangalore on Tuesday to get a feel for the success of its outsourcing companies, and to encourage them to invest more in Mexico.
Several Bangalore-based information technology companies are either already operating centers in Mexico or looking to expand there, hoping it would help them provide better services to U.S.-based clients.
Wipro Ltd., India's third-largest software company, said it would open a development center in Monterrey, Mexico, catering to clients in North America, Latin America and Europe with bilingual staff. It was not immediately clear when the center would open.
The announcement coincided with Calderon's visit to Wipro's headquarters Tuesday.
"I am sure that this relation that has now begun will also enhance the partnership between the people of India and Mexico," a Wipro statement quoted Calderon as saying.
Calderon's trip to Bangalore came a day after he held talks with political leaders in New Delhi to strengthen ties between the countries. During the talks Monday, they agreed to boost economic and political ties and set a target to more than double trade to $5 billion by 2010.
Mexico and India are both emerging economies that have seen rapid expansion in recent years, but few businesses in either country have seized the opportunity to invest in the other. Two-way trade totaled only $1.8 billion in 2006 -- less than 1 percent of each country's trade with the rest of the world.
Calderon is the first Mexican president to visit India in 22 years.
On Monday, he told business leaders in New Delhi they would benefit from investing in Mexico because of the access it has to some of the world's biggest markets, including the United States.
In Bangalore on Tuesday, he also toured the facilities of Infosys Technologies Ltd. and Biocon Ltd., India's top biotechnology company.
Last month, Infosys Technologies set up a Latin American subsidiary and opened a software development center in Monterrey that can accommodate more than 250 engineers in a single shift.
Wipro said Tuesday its center in Monterrey will have 100 seats to start. The company did not give financial details.
"This facility will help establish our capabilities in the central time zone, which allows us to better serve our North American clients and their operations in Latin America," Chief Operating Officer A.L. Rao said in the statement.
He said it would also strengthen Wipro's market presence in the region.
