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Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s India Mission 2014 had a stopover at Visakhapatnam on January 18, 2014. The delegates participated in three events there that included B2B meetings, a summit on bilateral trade and investment, a visit to the Gitam University. The delegates also met with Hon. Ganta Srinivas Rao, Andhra Pradesh’s Minister for Minister for Infrastructure & Investments and Ports, Airports, Natural Gas.
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Canada-India Summit on Bilateral Trade & Investment
Hon. Ganta Srinivas Rao, Minister for Infrastructure & Investment and Ports, airports and natural gas, was the guest of honour at the summit. The panellists in the summit from Andhra Pradesh included Solomon Arokia Raj, the collector of Visakhapatnam; MT Krishna Babu, Secretary, Infrastructure & Investment Department; Jayesh Ranjan, Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh Infrastructure Corporation; Anoop Singh, Special Secretary, Information Technology and Communications department; Chandana Khan, Special Secretary, Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture; MV Satyanarayana, IAS; Dr. N. Yuvraj, Visakhapatnam Urban Development Agency.
Although the summit was held on the board theme of Canada-India bilateral trade and investment opportunities, it focussed on Visakhapatnam and the coastal Andhra Pradesh. Minister Hon. G. Srinivas Rao highlighted the development of coastal Andhra Pradesh and the opportunities that are available to global investors. The officials from the Andhra Pradesh government made a series of presentations on different aspects of the state’s economy that included opportunities in petroleum, chemicals, petrochemicals, information technology and PPP projects in tourism, youth advancement, and culture.
In the second session the participants from Canada provided a briefing on the growing investment and trade opportunities in Canada. The speakers in the session included Hon. Joe Daniel, Member of Parliament; Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC; Vikram Jain of Canada’s Trade Commissioner’s Service; Ray Chan, Government of Saskatchewan; Surva Bezawada, and Abu Becker.
In his remarks, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, emphasized the need for Indian states to step up to forging links with Canada both at the federal and at the provincial levels. “In India Mission 2014, we have visited altogether eight Indian states primarily to underline the significance of the opportunities in the different parts of India, and away from the main metropolises,” he said.
He added, "In each of these states, we have covered different sectors, taking care to highlight the sectors that are important for the state."
Subsequently, the India Mission delegates had an interactive session with the Minister Hon. G. Srinivas Rao.
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Interactive session at GITAM University
The India Mission 2014 delegates then visited the GITAM University in Visakhapatnam. K Ramakrishna Rao, Chancellor; and G Subrahmanyam, Vice Chancellor; greeted the delegates and led the delegation into an interactive session. The session witnessed participation by close to 350 faculty members, students of the university.
During the past 33 years, GITAM has been committed to excellence in higher education foraying into diversified disciplines of learning. It has steadily evolved into a world class university recognized for the experiential learning it offers, the competent and compassionate faculty, the stellar research laboratories, academic vibrancy and cosmopolitan culture.
The university has three campuses – Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Known for its creative dynamism and flexibility, the university offers varied programs blending skill development and value orientation to shape the career of students and develop holistic personality to be privileged members of the civil society. The university also offers several programs through distance learning to increase access to higher education with emphasis on reaching the unreached.
GITAM already has a twinning program with a couple of Canadian educational institutions. During the meeting with the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor, ICCC President Naval Bajaj agreed to a proposal for signing a memorandum of understanding between the Chamber and the University. The University and the Chamber would be working on different educational initiatives. The University representatives also agreed to lead a delegation to Canada in 2014.
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