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ICCC’s six-city India Mission 2013

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)’s India Mission 2013 came to a successful conclusion in Amritsar January 16. It started January 3 from Toronto. During the two-week program, the Mission visited Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar, Delhi and Amritsar. Led by ICCC’s President Naval Bajaj, the India Mission 2013 comprised over a 100 small businesses from Canada and also includes a team from the Cities of Brampton and Markham led by their respective mayors – Her Worship Susan Fennell (Brampton) and His Worship Frank Scarpitti (Markham).

After successful participation in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Kochi, where Hon. Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, along with Hon. Dr. Asha Seth, Senator and Hon. Joe Daniel, Member of Parliament, had accompanied the India Mission 2013 delegates, the delegation reached Ahmedabad to participate in Vibrant Gujarat 2013 Business Summit. ICCC was one of the Partner Organizations of the Summit, and Canada was a partner country. Hon. Jason Kenney participated in the inaugural ceremony of the Summit along with Hon. Patrick Brown, Member of Parliament and Chair Canada-India Parliamentary Association. They were also present at the Canada Country seminar and at the Canada-Gujarat seminar organized by ICCC in collaboration with the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Petroleum University (PDPU). Two MoUs were signed by ICCC one with the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the other with PDPU.

Mayors of Brampton and Markham Her Worship Susan Fennell and His Worship Frank Scarpitti along with ICCC President Naval Bajaj met the Mayor of Ahmedabad Asit Vora. During the meeting the two GTA Mayors discussed the exchange of knowhow on civic issues such as waste management and possibilities of collaboration between their cities with Ahmedabad. Asit Vora explained the diverse operations of the Ahmedabad municipal corporation. ICCC President invited the Mayor of Ahmedabad to GTA with a delegation of small businesses, which Asit Vora accepted.

The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) organized an interactive session with ICCC to explore trade ties and possibilities of collaboration between small businesses in Canada and Gujarat. Speaking on the occasion, Naval Bajaj emphasized that it was to encourage small businesses in Canada that the Chamber had undertaken the trade mission. He said that the cities of Brampton and Markham had decided to join the delegation because they take small businesses seriously and they are keen that small businesses located in their cities take to globalization. After the interactive session, Presidents of both the organizations signed a memorandum of understanding for future collaboration.

The ICCC-led delegation to Vibrant Gujarat was the largest foreign delegation at the Summit. Altogether 50,000 delegates from 120 countries attended the Summit. ICCC was one of the partner organizations of the three-day global business summit and Canada was the Partner Country. Hon. Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat conveyed his deep appreciation to Hon. Jason Kenney, Canada's Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, that the Canadian delegation was the largest of all international delegations. The Gujarat Chief Minister also specifically mentioned ICCC for leading thelargest international delegation to the Summit, and lauded Naval Bajaj's commitment to foster bilateral ties. 

On the occasion of the global business summit, Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, wrote a special letter to Hon. Narendra Modi, in which he lauded the entrepreneurial spirit of Gujarat and said that the state is playing an important role in strengthening Canada-India relations.

Prime Minister Harper said that Gujarat, one of India’s most dynamic and industrious states, is world-renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit. “The state is an important partner for Canada thanks to its strategic location, strong economic credentials, and multilingual skilled workforce.”

Describing Vibrant Gujarat Summit as an international platform which provides a wonderful opportunity to foster new commercial relationships and enhance people-to-people ties, Harper said that Canada recently opened a trade office in Ahmedabad to facilitate new business and trade opportunities for Canada and the Gujarati community.

Chris Hill, President, Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) was the keynote speaker at the Canada Country Seminar. The subject of the seminar was Canada – the Preferred Business Destination.  His Excellency Stewart Beck gave the welcome remarks and representatives of provinces from British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Saskatchewan made presentations on what their provinces have to offer to investors. Mayors of Brampton and Markham also made presentations about their cities. 

His Excellency Stewart Beck, the High Commissioner of Canada to India, in his speech, noted that ICCC had done well by following up the Prime Minister Stephen Harper's November visit to India with leading a trade delegation of small businesses to India.

In his closing remarks, Naval Bajaj, said, “Canada and India share many commonalities such as democracy, respect for human rights, pluralism, religious freedom and the rule of law. We also have long-standing people-to-people relations. India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world and it needs resources to keep the momentum of its growth. Canada has enough resources to fulfill the Indian needs in sectors like energy, mining, food processing, education, skill development etc. The cooperation and collaboration of both countries in these sectors will be a win-win situation.”

At the Canada-Gujarat Business and Trade Opportunities Seminar, Hon. Jason Kenney gave the keynote address. He said that just as Gujarat has the strongest economy in India, Canada has the strongest economy in G-7. Working together, the potential to support each other’s prosperity is boundless." Gujarat’s Minister for Energy, Hon. Saurabh Patel was the guest of honour. In his presentation, Naval Bajaj gave innumerable examples of how trade and business between Gujarat and Canada can be enhanced. Giving a telling example of diamond trade, the ICCC President said, “Gujarat is the hub of diamond trade. There is negligible direct trade in diamonds between Canada and India because the bulk of the trade is routed through Europe. Canada is one of the world’s largest producers and India is one of the world’s largest importers of rough diamonds. If Canada and Gujarat are able to establish direct linkages in this trade I am certain the $15 billion two-way trade target will be easily achieved and long before the 2015 deadline. Our Chamber signed a MoU with the Diamond Bourse of Canada to explore ways and means to establish direct diamond trade.” He emphasized that the Canada-Gujarat platform that the ICCC provided at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit was to showcase the vibrancy of Canada as much as that of Gujarat.

ICCC’s six-city India Mission 2013

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)’s India Mission 2013 which started on January 3 from Toronto will be completing its final leg tomorrow when it reaches Amritsar. The Mission has already visited Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar and Delhi. Led by ICCC’s President Naval Bajaj, the Mission comprises over a 100 small businesses from Canada and also includes a team from the Cities of Brampton and Markham led by their respective mayors – Her Worship Susan Fennell (Brampton) and His Worship Frank Scarpitti (Markham). In Kochi, the delegates participated in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2013, the Eleventh edition of the global convention of the Indian Diaspora.

Luncheon with Hon. Jason Kenney

Hon. Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism had especially flown down to India to be with the Canadian delegates participating in the convention. He hosted a luncheon for the Indian delegates where Dr. Asha Seth, Senator, Senate of Canada, spoke along with Naval Bajaj and the Mayors of Brampton and Markham. Minister Kenney lauded the positive role of the ICCC in fostering bilateral relations between Canada and India and also proactively engaging the Indian Diaspora into the social, cultural and economic fabric of Canada.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, was one of the speakers at the third Plenary Session on the second day of the three-day convention. The session discussed Engaging Young Overseas Indian and included eminent personalities such as Honourable Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India; Honourable Mookhesswur Choonee, Minister for Arts and Culture, Republic of Mauritius; Honourable Ajay Maken, Minister for Housing and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India; Honourable K. C. Venugopal, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India; Honourable Madhu Yaskhi Goud, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha; Dr. Ruby Dhalla, Former Member of Parliament, Canada; T. P. Sreenivasan, Former Ambassador of India and Governor of the IAEA; Dr. G. Mohan Gopal, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies; and Dr. Vidya Rajiv Yeravdekar, Principal Director, Symbiosis.

Discussing the subject, the ICCC President emphasized the need to engage the youth from Indian Diaspora. He said, “It stands to reason that for the Indian Diaspora to play an effective role for building partnerships between host countries and India, they have to integrate well into the societies of host countries. Greater civic engagement of members of Indian Diaspora with mainstream societies of host countries may bring substantial benefits to India. Indian Diaspora Organizations need to pay attention to this matter. The effectiveness of the process of engaging Young Overseas Indians for mutual benefits can be enhanced by appropriate policy measures by the governments of India and of host countries concerned, as well as by their private sectors and civil societies, and above all by various Indian Diaspora organizations acting in tandem.”

KSIDC

The Mission delegates also had an interactive session with the officials of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and the Government of Kerala in Kochi. The KSIDC officials utilized the interactive session to showcase the investment opportunities available in Kerala. Speaking on the occasion, Naval Bajaj observed that little is known outside India of the investment opportunities available in southern parts of India, and that there is need for better exposure. The selection of Kochi as a venue for PBD-India would go a long way in addressing this anomaly.

Meetings

At the PBD-India, the delegation met several Indian dignitaries and decision makers. These included meetings with:

• Sam Pitroda, the Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations, and the chairman of India’s National Innovation Council.  
  
• Honourable Vayalar Ravi, India’s Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs
• Honourable E Ahamad, Minister of State for External Affairs
• Honourable Ooomen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala
• Dr. S. Didar Singh, Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Naval Bajaj discussed scope of enhancing Canada-India bilateral relations.

ICCC’s six-city India Mission 2013

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)’s India Mission 2013 which started on January 3 from Toronto has completed its first leg and is at present in Gandinagar participating in Vibrant Gujarat. Led by ICCC’s President Naval Bajaj, the India Mission 2013comprises over a 100 small businesses from Canada and also includes a team from the Cities of Brampton and Markham led by their respective mayors – Her Worship Susan Fennell (Brampton) and His Worship Frank Scarpitti (Markham).

In Bengaluru the Mission had five interactive sessions meetings with the diplomatic corps, government officials, briefing sessions, luncheon receptions and seminars on small businesses, and B2B meetings with leading private banking institutions, chambers of commerce, industry association and visit to one of India’s emerging global IT giants – iGATE.

The Mission reached Bengaluru 6 January and had an interactive session at Vishweshwarya International Trade Centre (VITC), the nodal agency for Karnataka’s international trade. Shivaswamy, Managing Director and Swaroopa TK, Joint Director, along with other officials of VITC participated in the meeting. ICCC and VITC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for future collaborations.  Speaking on the occasion, Naval Bajaj emphasized that ICCC is keen to forge linkages with India’s states and their international trade bodies as each state has different strengths and the ability to offer something unique to Canada. Shivaswamy emphasised the commonalities between Karnataka and Canada in several industry and services sectors such as mining and information technology.

Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI)

Later that evening the delegates attended a dinner reception organized by the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI). Among the highlights of the dinner was the presence of senior Karnataka leaders and industry leaders. While referring to ICCC’s relations with FKCCI, Naval Bajaj said, “Our organizational relations may be new but we share a common vision of fostering trade and commerce.” He noted that the role that organizations such as ICCC and FKCCI perform on bilateral sphere help towards a more integrated soci0-economic, cultural and political relations between nations and also directly benefit the people. ICCC and FKCCI also signed a MoU for future collaboration.

iGATE & Mayor of Bengaluru

A few delegates went to visit the facilities of iGATE in Bengaluru. iGATE is a silver sponsor of ICCC and has a growing presence in Canada. Another group met the Mayor of Bengaluru D Venkatesh Murthy. The Mayor of Brampton Susan Fennell attended this meeting. The two mayors discussed the prospects of signing a friendship city agreement in the near future. They also discussed best practices on waste management and other civic issues.

ICBC-CII-WTC

The Indo-Canadian Business Chamber (ICBC) in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the World Trade Centre (WTC) – Bengaluru organized a seminar as a part of ICCC’s project on the Future Agenda for Canada India Partnership: Unlocking its Full Potential*.

Among the participants were L Krishnan, Chairman, CII Karnataka State Council & Managing Director, Taegutec India Pvt Ltd; Kyle Nunas, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner (South India), Foreign Affairs & International Trade Canada; M Maheswara Rao, IAS, Commissioner for Industrial Development & Director of Industries and Commerce; Pradipta Banerjee, VP CGI & Chairperson, Bangalore Regional Council, ICBC and Nadira Hamid of ICBC.

Speaking on the occasion, Naval Bajaj said the two-way trade between Canada and India has grown steadily. “A target of $15billion in trade has been set which is to be achieved in the next couple of years. It seems like a long way to go considering that in 2011 the two-way trade was a little over $5billion but perhaps not as challenging as it may seem because trade increased by 24% in a year, I am certain 2012 statistic will show an equally impressive if not more impressive growth.”

He observed that it is in the context of growing relations that the ICCC envisaged a project that would explore all aspects of bilateral relations with an emphasis on economic ties and the role the Indian Diaspora has played and will play in enhancing ties.

*Official sponsor of the project

ICCC’s six-city India Mission 2013

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)’s India Mission 2013 which started on January 3 from Toronto has completed its first leg and has so far visited three of the six cities on its itinerary. These cities include Mumbai, Bangalore and Kochi. Led by ICCC’s President Naval Bajaj, the India Mission 2013comprises over a 100 small businesses from Canada and also includes a team from the Cities of Brampton and Markham led by their respective mayors – Her Worship Susan Fennell (Brampton) and His Worship Frank Scarpitti (Markham).

In Mumbai, which was the first city on the itinerary, the delegates had eight interactive sessions during the two-day stay (January 4 and 5) in the commercial capital of India that included meetings with the diplomatic corps, government officials, briefing sessions, luncheon receptions and seminars on small businesses, and B2B meetings with leading private banking institutions, chambers of commerce, industry association and visits to movie studio and movie industry institutions.

Dr. Subadha Rao, Chief Economist, Yes Bank, was the keynote speaker at the first event – a briefing session – organized by the Consulate General of Canada in India. Dr. Rao’s presentation on the emerging global and Indian economic scenario was followed by another sterling presentation by Nicolas LePage, Senior Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai.

At a luncheon reception of the Mission delegates organized by ICCC’s partner All India Association of Industries (AIAI) at the World Trade Centre – Mumbai, Naval Bajaj emphasized that the role that organizations such as ICCC, the AIAI and WTC-Mumbai perform helps in building more integrated socio-economic, cultural and political relations between Canada and India and directly benefit the people.

The delegates comprising Naval Bajaj, Mayor Fennell and Mayor Scarpitti then met Hon. Suresh Shetty, the Health Minister of Maharashtra. At the meeting Naval Bajaj explained to the Minister the twin mandates of the ICCC – of promoting bilateral trade and creating opportunities for the Indian Diaspora. The Mayors gave information of their cities to the Minister.

Later that evening, senior officials of Yes Bank interacted with the Mission delegates at a special dinner that the bank had organized. Naval Bajaj recalled ICCC’s growing relationship with Yes Bank. He observed, “Just last month our Chamber collaborated with Yes Bank when Tushar Panday, Ashish Chandak and Kangan Mehta participated in ICCC’s Canada-India Mining Forum. The Yes Bank team will again be in Canada in March to attend the annual PDAC convention. We look forward to a long working relationship with Yes Bank in the future on mutually beneficial areas in addition to mining.”

Speaking on the creation of a Global Entrepreneur Network, while participating in the Indian Leaders’ Summit organized by the SME Chamber of India, Naval Bajaj said the need is to create a network of entrepreneurs of Indian origin (both within and outside India) as such a network would go a long way in creating a better entrepreneurial environment in India. He also delivered a keynote address on creating an entrepreneurial network between Canada and India. Both ICCC and the City of Brampton signed a MoU with the SME Chamber for future collaborations. Hon. Narayan Rane, Maharashtra’s Ministry for Industries and Hon. Mahdev Naik, Goa’s Minister Industries also participated in the seminar.

The delegates then visited three film industry sites – a studio, a film school and a visual entertainment service centre. The first stopover was at Reliance Media Works Studio where the Brampton’s Mayor Susan Fennell discussed the possibilities of collaboration between the Indian film industry and the City of Brampton where Brampton can become a venue for movie shootings. The delegates then visited Whistling Woods International Institute for Films, Media, Animation and Media Arts, and the last leg of the day’s visit was to Prime Focus, a visual entertainment centre that has operations in Vancouver and plans to start operations in Toronto.

At Reliance Media works the delegates received a briefing and a theatre presentation of the studio’s major projects followed by a visit to the studio. At Whistling Woods, the delegates had an informal discussion with Chiatanya Chinchlikar, Business Head of the institute and at Prime Focus, another studio doing projects for foreign clients, the delegates received a brief 3D presentation at the studio and business interaction thereafter followed by visits to their sound studio and picture studio.