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After successful stopovers in Lucknow and Delhi, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s (ICCC) India Mission 2014 delegation reached Chandigarh on January 10.
The two-day program in Chandigarh comprised attending the Punjabi Pravasi Samelan at the historic city of Anandpur Sahib, interactive sessions with the decision makers in Punjab, including a meeting with the state’s deputy chief minister, Hon. Sukhbir Singh Badal.
In his interaction with the Chief Minister Hon. Prakash Singh Badal and the Deputy Chief Minister, Hon. Sukhbir Singh Badal, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, emphasized the singular contribution of the Punjabi community to the bilateral relations between Canada and India. "The Punjabi diaspora in Canada is one of the highest outside India. Punjabi is the fourth largest spoken language in Canada after English, French and Chinese. In the Greater Toronto Area, the city of Brampton is known as Mini Punjab in Canada and most of the businesses in the city are with the Punjabi Diaspora especially the food sector."
During the discussions with, which focussed on agriculture and food processing, the Punjab officials pointed out that the state now has surplus on energy and may be focussing on infrastructure. The state now has created the right environment to put industry in Punjab on the global map. ICCC President spoke about the possibilities of initiating twinning programs between Canadian educational institutions and their Punjab counterparts.
During the interaction with the deputy chief minister, Hon. Sukhbir Singh Badal, requested that the ICCC should help promote Punjab as an investment and trade destination.
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On January 11, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC and Gurkirpal Singh, President, Mohali Industries Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enable cooperation in trade promotion, investment and other economic fields. Both the organizations will exchange information about products, manufacturers, buyers and sellers, export and import requirements.
In his remarks, the ICCC President lauded the great strides Mohali had seemingly taken in establishing itself as a hub for different industries. “I must mention that there is a lot of progress here, specifically in Mohali, which is better for industry.” He said he was very happy to see this vibrancy in a city that had made its reputation solely on cricket.
KHS Dhinsa, joint secretary of Mohali Industries Association, said that MIA’s vision was to propel itself in the top five industrial associations of the world. Sohail Saeed, director, Economic Development, City of Brampton, and Raymond Chan, investment attraction manager, Government of Saskatchewan, also spoke at the conference.
Subsequently, the delegation participated in a conference on Canada-Punjab economic and trade collaboration organized by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PHDCCI).
At the conference ICCC President, Naval Bajaj, emphasized that the purpose of ICCC’s India Mission 2014 was focussed mainly on five sectors – agriculture, agri-food, education, infrastructure and energy.
He said, ICCC is privileged to have the opportunity to make a contribution to the partnership between Canada and Punjab. “To our friends in India, we carry the message about the great potential which Canada has in meeting India’s needs for commodities such as rough diamonds, energy security, preservation of environment, food security, agriculture, healthcare, nanotechnology, clean technologies, aviation and manufacturing industries, soft and hard infrastructure, etc.,” Bajaj said.
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According to news reports published in the local media in Chandigarh (India News Calling), RS Sachdeva, co-chair, Punjab committee, PHD Chamber, stressed on the fact that India and Canada have longstanding bilateral relationship based on shared democratic values, the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious nature of two societies and strong people-to-people contacts. He also said, “We need to accelerate our efforts for the growth of bilateral economic cooperation, particularly in view of the current economic scenario.”
The report also quoted Dalip Sharma, Director, PHD Chamber, as follows: “The inbuilt complimentary of the economies of both our countries offers innumerable opportunities and it is important that we build on the existing strong relations.”
Additionally, the report quoted Rajani Alexander, representing the Canadian Consulate in Chandigarh, as having said, “India is a priority market for Canada and was ranked among the only 13 priority partners.”
Sohail Saeed, Director, Economic Development, Brampton said, “We look forward to collaborations majorly in the fields of Information Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Food and Beverage, Advanced Manufacturing.” While Chan, Raymond C, Investment Attraction Manager, Saskatchewan, laid stress on collaborations particularly in food processing.
In addition to these meetings, the India Mission delegates also interacted with the Mohali Business Council at the Mohali Cricket Stadium. The delegates also held a breakfast meeting with Punjab-based investors who had evinced interest in Canada.
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