Three agreements signed today as part of Premier Gordon Campbell's mission to Asia will expand post-secondary education opportunities for students in British Columbia and India.

"One of the goals of this mission is to promote British Columbia as the destination of choice in Canada for international students," said Campbell. "In today's increasingly connected world, connecting overseas students with B.C. post-secondary facilities doesn't necessarily mean that those students have to come here in person. Institutions such as the University College of the Fraser Valley and Emily Carr are building important bridges by offering B.C.-developed programs on the ground in India, as well as India-focused programs here in Canada."

The three memorandums of understanding signed today are:

* UCFV and St. Andrew's College of Arts Science and Commerce (Mumbai): Co-operate to meet the growing need worldwide for international professionals. This may involve joint study programs; collaborative research projects; exchange of researchers, teaching personnel and students; and other ventures.

* UCFV, Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design and Mumbai's Gannon Group of Companies: Explore the development of a school for the digital arts.

* UCFV and University of Mumbai: Co-operate and expand education opportunities for students in India and Canada in common areas of interest in Indo-Canadian Studies and associated research degrees.

"This mission could not have come at a better time," said UCFV president Dr. H.A. Bassford. "Our commitment to expanding ties with India and BC's Indo-Canadian community is firmly in place and is gaining momentum. It's been two years since we launched the Chandigarh program, a year since we officially opened our Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, and less than six months since our colleague Prof. D.J. Sandhu was named as B.C. Regional Innovation Chair on Canada-India Business and Economic Development. These new partnership agreements that we are signing this week will allow us to take our commitment to a whole new level, and they support our government's vision of enhancing B.C.'s unique competitive advantage of our proximity, cultural ties, and natural connections to India."

UCFV is home to the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, which is designed to provide information for people wanting to do business with India and to further opportunities between Canada and India. The centre, sister organization to the Canadian Studies Centre at Panjab University in India, also houses the B.C. Regional Innovation Chair on Canada India Business and Economic Development. Earlier this year, the Province announced a $1.25-million contribution for the chair endowment to match the $1.25 million raised by hundreds of regional community supporters.