Philippines participation at the recently held
“INDIA - ASEAN BUSINESS FAIR AND BUSINESS CONCLAVE” at NEW DELHI from MARCH 1-7 was a SUPER SUCCESS
The Philippines participation at the recently held business conclave at New Delhi was definitely a great achievement on the part of the Philippines, and in further strengthening relations between India and the Philippines.
Our Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo led this high level delegation from the Philippines. High level ministers from the rest of the 9 ASEAN countries also were present with Malaysia and Thailand having huge trade fair exhibitors. The DELHI DIALOUGE 3 was held also in Delhi; where in Johnny Chotrani was a speaker.
The Philippine Embassy in India must be truly appreciated for the hard work they have put in this business meet. Ambassador Hon. Ronald Alleray, Robert Ferrer, Vyke Roaring, Tamana, Maricel and others, thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. They too provided cars wherever possible.
We must salute the hard work put in by Chairman Johnny Chotrani, representing Philippine India Business Council, which falls under PCCI. Full support and regular meetings by the BOI / FTSC of DTI, PITC, DOT, DFA, and CITEM who designed the booth, was also the prime mover for the success of this trip and is definitely appreciated by one and all. The Indian Embassy in Manila provided visa on a gratis basis.
The private sector was led by Del Monte Philippines which has a Joint Venture with the Sunil Mittal group of India [they own Bharati Airtel]. The famous “OISHI” brand of snacks, which was represented by Carlson Chan, might soon be available in India. Presently it is one of the fastest growing brands in China and Philippines and in some other ASEAN Countries. The President of the Philippines Constructor Association was truly impressed with India and the real estate boom and prices. Philippines land prices is definitely undervalued compared to India: two reasons were detected. One is the constitutional restriction that foreigners cannot buy land properties in RP [except for condominium] and secondly, the fake titles issue. Mazda Makati led by its President Anne scouted around for CNG Cars. Philippines Rattan furniture were on display by the Indian importer WORLD BAZAAR led by Simran Ginghra.
Arjun Shroff promoted the Philippines and his business too by making many tie-ups with Indian travel companies. Vishnu Hathiramani of Popular Publishing promoted his publishing / services and his PRA "Retire in the Philippines" project of Dept. Of Tourism. Ram Sitaldas of APTECH / Classique Pharma too was present.
An I.T. / B.P.O meeting was organized in Bengaluru [Bangalore] where in a small delegation flew via King Fisher Airline on Thursday night to Bangalore and returned back Friday night to New Delhi. This meeting truly was an important one, and Mr. Sanjiv Sarin [formerly assigned in the Philippines] also took active participation in the event. The alumnae of AIM also took part in the Bangalore meet.
Taj Mahal saw the visit of Secretary Domingo and his charming wife with some members of the delegation on Saturday the 5th of March. They were truly impressed.
The delegates loved the Indian food. They found Hotel OBEROI truly comfortable with great service but definitely India is expensive on hotel rates. Medicines, fancy Jewelries, table linens and home decors, and decorations topped the shopping list. A Gala dinner was hosted by Shri Sumanta Chaudhuri, IAS who is the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India at Hotel Ashok. Great food but we wish the drinks were served before the show. The three days lunches were provided by the Fair management and we all truly relished it.
THE FINAL VERDICT:
Trade figure will henceforth exceed the USD 1 billion mark per year.
President Aquino is expected to visit India in the year 2012.
The Philippine Government must consider VISA ON ARRIVAL for Indian nationals. This visa issue is truly a concern, no matter what the Philippine Govt. says.
There will be a direct flight between Mumbai and Manila by Diwali this year.
The Delhi International Airport is truly impressive.
The floorings at the exhibition halls of Pragati Maidan need to be fixed and made even. Two of our delegates suffered injuries when they slipped and fell.
WE LOVE YOU INDIA, WE LOVE YOU PHILIPPINES. MABUHAY INDIA NAMASTE PHILIPPINES.
