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On Wednesday November 27th, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce in association with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Canada Israel Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Markham held a business breakfast at the Hilton Markham.

The morning opened with remarks from the Consul General of Israel DJ Schneeweiss, Consul General of India Akhilesh Mishra, and His Worship Frank Scarpitti, Mayor of Markham. 

Consul Generals emphasized the unique and growing relations between Israel and India across a number of sectors, including research and development, water and energy collaborations, military and security cooperation, educational and academic partnerships, growing tourism from both countries, and much more.  The mayor has participated in both Indian and Israeli trade missions, and sees Markham as uniquely situated as a hub for partnership between Canada, Israel and India given the demographics of the city.

The event featured Noam Ben Ozer, CEO and Founder, and Anchit Gupta, Director of Business Development, from Focal Energy, a clean-tech Israeli company with all of its operations in India.  They spoke to the challenging, but rewarding, experience of commencing business in India. 

Gupta stated “Renewable energy in India is not implemented because it’s a desirable option, but because it is a necessity.  It is the only way to meet the growing energy needs of the population.” 

Ben Ozer spoke to some of the reasons why Focal Energy has been successful, where so many other companies with more capital have failed.  He identified their conservative approach to growth and development, and their investment in a qualified management team based locally, as well as their strong relationships with local small-scale suppliers. 

The event “The India Israel Opportunity” was at capacity with close to 70 people in attendance, with an audience of primarily business leadership in the India, Jewish and Israeli communities.  Other partners in the event included the Israel Economic Mission to Canada, the Rajasthan Association of North America, and Walter Arbib and Surjit Babra of Skylink Group.

Interactive session and reception in the honor of Hon. Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) and the India-Canada Association of Montreal Inc., jointly organized an interactive evening session to welcome and honor Hon. Valayar Ravi, India’s minster for overseas Indian affairs, on Wednesday, 27 November 2013.

Several dignitaries including His Excellency Admiral Nirmal Varma, Indian High Commissioner; Mr. Naval Bajaj, President of ICCC; Dr. Rajesh Kumar Tyagi, Chair, Quebec chapter, ICCC;  Mr. C.B. Singh, President of India-Canada Association of Montreal Inc.; and Alan DeSousa, mayor of St-Laurent graced the occasion.

The event began with a graceful dance performance by the well-renowned classical dancer following which all the noted dignitaries on stage addressed the audience present at the event.

The honorable minister Mr. Vayalar Ravi emphasised on the prominence of the Indian diaspora in enabling the socio-economic development of India. He went on to urge the youngsters abroad to retain their “Indianness” and their affinity to India.

He praised the work being done by associations like ICCC, which work towards promoting Indianness and also in helping India develop as a nation. He commended the Indian diaspora for their ability to adapt quickly to new environments and for being a part of success stories around the world. He said India is proud of its diaspora around the world, who he said “are flag bearers for India”. He then moved on to respond to questions from the audience.

His Excellency Admiral Retd. Nirmal Varma commended Minister Ravi’s many important contributions made in the realm of Indian external affairs. He lauded the efforts of ICCC in engaging the Indian diaspora and facilitating bilateral ties between Canada and India along many frontiers.

In his address, Mr. Naval Bajaj spoke about the constructive role that ICCC has been playing for the last 36 years in creating a right environment to foster bilateral ties between Canada and India, in the recognition of which the Government of India conferred the organization with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award; the highest honor given to an overseas Indian organization by the Government of India.

Speaking about the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, a three day festival that is annually celebrated to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa, he said, “Minister Ravi has been the heart and soul of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, and has worked dedicatedly to turn the annual congregation of the Indian Diaspora into a platform for genuine interaction between the non-resident and resident Indians. Minister Ravi has transformed the event into a meaningful dialogue that is leading to many avenues being opened for the Indian Diaspora to contribute to India’s development”.

Dr. Tyagi spoke about the India week celebration that is being planned to be held in Montreal in October 2014. He said that the event would not only focus on enhancing economic ties between Canada and India but also serve to further the cultural ties between the two countries. He mentioned that ICCC would partner with organization like UQAM and the Chanchalani foundation that are working actively towards making this event a reality.

Mr. DeSousa welcomed the honorable minister and stressed on the significant contributions made by the South Asian community to the economic and cultural setup of Canada.

The event concluded with dinner and a personal interaction of the all the dignitaries with the audience.

The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Young Professional's and the Jewish Chamber of Commerce with CIJA came together for a young professionals networking night titled "India and Israel: Shared Values, Shared Future. 

The event took place at the Marben Restaurant with the participation of Consul General of Israel DJ Schneeweiss and Consul General of India Akhilesh Mishra, and featured guest speakers Noam Ben-Ozer and Anchit Gupta of Focal Energy. 

Focal Energy is an Israeli-Indian business initiative that creates renewable energy projects in different regions of India.  The speakers discussed the challenges of doing business across countries, and described from their perspective why they have been successful in a space where others have not. 

The speakers explained the importance of conservative timelines and numbers when entering a risky and new industry, and the importance of investing in local expertise to navigate bureaucracy and build relationships. 

Their presentation was followed by an engaging Q&A with attendees and networking. The attendees walked away with a great deal of understanding of the growing renewable energy sector in India and new partnerships with the Jewish Chamber of Commerce.

ICCC-YP November networking

Part of ICCC - Diageo Canada series on building business and professional networks among young professionals

On November 19th, 2013, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s the Young Professional’s (YP) Committee hosted their monthly networking session.

The monthly networking is an opportunity for new and old members of ICCC to network in a casual setting. It is also an opportunity for non-members to come by and whet their appetite about YP and ICCC.

This event also allows attendees to get a feel for the YP committee, and learn about the opportunities they stand to gain from a membership with ICCC.

In converse, this also provides an opportunity for the YP committee to speak about their future events and gage audience needs so that future events can be customized to serve their members as much as possible.

This month’s event was held at P.J. O’Brien’s, a long standing establishment located in the heart of Toronto’s financial district. This pub always has a welcoming atmosphere with good food and drinks.

The YP committee welcomed approximately thirty-five attendees throughout the evening. Incidentally, the pub was also hosting an event with the British-Canada Chamber of Commerce and this provided ICCC members the opportunity to not only network internally, but externally with other organizations as well.

The evening ended with all attendees enjoying themselves, while walking away with new contacts and possible future partnerships. This serves the very reason for hosting the YP monthly social nights.

We hope to see you next month!

ICCC President Naval Bajaj addressing participants at the Ottawa roundtable

Ottawa, Parliament Hill,  November 19, 2013: – A roundtable on Unlocking Potential : Future of Canada India Partnership was jointly organized by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) and Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) with support from Senator Honourable Dr. Asha Seth at Parliament Hill, Ottawa,  on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

At the roundtable, which was held in two sessions, the ICCC was represented by its President Naval Bajaj and Ambassador (Retd.) Kant K. Bhargava, Honorary Advisor of ICCC, and Shastri Indo Canadian Institute was represented by President Dr. Shanthi Johnson and Dr. Rajesh Tyagi.

The opening session of the roundtable was held at Hotel Westin, Ottawa where representatives from the business community, academia and government came together to discuss four themes pertaining to Canada India bilateral relations

• Education, skill development and vocational training
• Innovation, science and technology, and sustainable development
• Investment
• Roles of diaspora and bridge-builders, Canadian provinces and Indian states

Among the roundtable participants included His Excellency Admiral Nirmal Varma, Indian High Commissioner; Mr. Don Stephenson, Chief Negotiator, CEPA; Ms. Denise Amyot, President and CEO, Association of Canadian Community Colleges; Mr. Sriram Iyer, President & CEO, ICICI Bank, Canada; Mr. Brian Lee Crowley, Managing Director, Mc Donald Laurier Institute; Mr. V.I. Lakshmanan, Chair, Canada India Foundation; Douglas Gould, Director, Asia Pacific Foundation; Mr. David Stewart-Patterson, Vice President, Public Poicy, The Conference Board of Canada; and Mr. Anil Arora, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources. Other participants included representatives from AUCC, Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development, and other organizations.

In his speech, Mr. Stephenson stressed on the importance of Canada India trade relationship and the challenges it faced in signing of CEPA. He highlighted the various agreements between Canada and India that were signed and also those that are in their final stages which includes the Social Security Agreement, Nuclear Co-operation Agreement and also agreements on Audio Visual Co-production, Science and Technology Partnership Program, International Education Strategy,  Investment Protection Agreement, Sector Practices established in key economic areas and expanded Trade Commissioner Services in India to promote Canadian businesses.

His Excellency Admiral Varma emphasized the importance of SMEs in the trade corridor between Canada and India which should move on even in the absence of CEPA. Honourable Senator Dr. Seth, welcomed the participants and guests at the Parliament Hill which included senators and members of parliament among others. Senator Seth congratulated Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce for successfully organizing the Roundtable.

Mr. Bajaj, President ICCC, in his address thanked Senator Honorable Asha Seth for her support and welcomed warmly all the participants. He said, “At the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, we believe that for unlocking the full potential of Canada-India partnerships, our discussions during the roundtable must factor the need for evolving a cohesive and coordinated approach by the governments of Canada and India by involving in this exercise industry, academia and governments at provincial and local levels. Contemporary research studies have shown that Canadian provinces and territories as well as Indian states have now emerged as important economic players on the global scene and are thus indispensable for building comprehensive economic partnerships. Also, we are of the view that the provinces and territories in Canada and the states in India have also important roles to play under the aegis of the aforesaid coordinated and cohesive approach at national levels.”

In her speech, Dr. Johnson, President of Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute said, "Education is the most effective tool we have to bring social change and economic prosperity.  Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute will continue to play a significant role in building and improving academic relationships between the two great nations, Canada and India." 

A joint report is being prepared by SICI and ICCC and will be disseminated to all concerned opinion, policy and decision makers.

For more information, click here: http://www.iccc.org/project

ICCC organizes B2B meetings for FICCI delegation

Brij Sharma, ICCC's Director for Trade, SME & Sponsorship addressing the FICCI delegation

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organised 20 business to business (B2B) meetings for a visiting small and medium businesses delegation led by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI), a premier business organization of Indian businesses.

The FICCI delegation is on a week-long business visit to Canada and was in Greater Toronto Area on November 18 and 19, 2013. The delegation comprised 20 companies in agriculture and agri-food, renewable energy, power & waste management, steel, pharmaceutical and R&D, biotech, life science, IT and used machinery sector.

The B2B meetings were held on November 18. The delegates explored the possibilities of investment, joint ventures, joint R&D projects for developing new technologies, import of Canadian technologies and finished products, possible partners and establishing manufacturing units jointly in both the countries.

Speaking on the occasion Brij K Sharma, ICCC’s Director for Trade and SME, said that the visit of the delegation would help foster bilateral trade ties between Canada and India, and open up new avenues in future. Sandip Samaddar, Deputy Director, FICCI, who accompanied the delegation, was enthusiastic with the response of the Canadian businesses during the B2B meetings and their commitment to establish trade ties with visiting Indian companies.

On November 19, the delegation visited the Economic Development Department, City of Brampton, where Susan Fennell, Mayor of Brampton, and Sohail Saeed, Director, Economic Development, Brampton, gave an overview of Brampton’s advantages as an investment destination.

Extolling the virtues of Brampton, Mayor Fennell said Brampton is one of the leading debt free cities in the sector for promoting the business. The city abounds in land, resources and is connected with the international airport and other cities with world class highways.

Naval Bajaj, President ICCC, welcomed the delegation and said that the City of Brampton also visited India in the India Mission 2013 to explore the possibilities of attracting investment and developing ties with the Indian business leaders.

The delegation subsequently participated in The Changing Economic Landscapes Forum meeting at Rogers Communications. Later in the afternoon, the delegates had a roundtable discussion with the International Trade Committee of the Brampton Board of Trade.

The delegation will visit Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver in the coming days to explore more possibilities in the Canadian market.