Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, invited Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) to lead a delegation of small business entrepreneurs and professionals to the #Happening Haryana investment conclave scheduled to be held in Chandigarh next year. The Honourable Chief Minister was addressing members of the Chamber at a business meeting convened on Sunday evening in Toronto.

The Haryana CM was accompanied by a high-powered business and government delegation that included prominent members of the Haryana businesses, government and bureaucracy. Deep Kapuria, the Chairman and Managing Director of Hi-Tech Gears, was the head of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) business delegation accompanying the CM that comprised several Haryana-based businesses. Capt. Abhimanyu Sindhu, Haryana's Industries Minister and Principal Secretary Devinder Kumar were among the government officials. 

The Canadian participants at the business meeting included several well-known Indo-Canadian entrepreneurs and professionals, and members of the Indian diplomatic corps.

In his speech, Honourable Khattar lauded the role Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in promoting bilateral trade relations. The Chief Minister welcomed Canadian interests in Haryana and said that his state would benefit immensely from Canadian technical knowhow in different spheres. “The enhancement of relationship between Haryana and Canada would be a definite win-win,” he said.

He added that such a cooperation would help the people in his state meet their basic needs and also deliver tangible results in employment and education. While lauding the role of the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in India’s development, he urged those present to proactively work towards adopting villages in his state.

Sanjay Makkar welcoming Haryana CM	Manohar Lal Khattar

Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner H.E. Vishnu Prakash described the ICCC as a “leading organization for the Indo-Canadian business community.” He said that Haryana is a Silicon Valley of Northern India. Sectors such as automobile, education, pharmaceuticals, and IT are thriving in the state.

Sanjay Makkar, President, ICCC, in his remarks, spoke about the mission of the delegation. “The Haryana business delegation is in Canada to explore bilateral economic opportunities between Canada and Haryana, a relationship that has tremendous potential considering the commonalities that the state of Haryana shares with Canada in all the three spheres of agriculture, manufacturing and services,” he said.

Mr. Makkar introduced the Chamber to the visitors thus: “The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) is a 38-year-old organization that promotes bilateral economic and business relations between Canada and India by creating opportunities for Canadian small businesses and professionals to explore trade ties in India. Our Chamber has a coast-to-coast presence in Canada, and has councils in four of the most important provinces of this great country that is our karma-bhoomi. We have partners with whom we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in all the major states of our matru-bhoomi.”

He informed the delegation of ICCC’s visit to Haryana in 2014 during the 2014 India Mission, and assured the chief minister that in 2016, too, the ICCC India Mission would visit Haryana.

Mr. Deep Kapuria, head of the CII business delegation, said that Haryana houses the largest number of manufacturing units. He said that entrepreneurs’ participation in the value chain will help in longer cooperation and transformation of India into a developed country. He lauded the Indian PM slogan of Make in India with Zero Defect and Zero Effect. Captain Abhimanyu Sindhu, Industries Minister Haryana also briefed about the various programs started by the state government. Jagdish Bajaj, Vice President, Programs and Events, gave the introductory remarks.

VIPs at the business meeting