GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN
September 2004
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CONTENTS
- GREAT EXPECTATION AND GREAT OPPORTUNITIES AT
GOPIO TRADE AND INVESTMENT CONFERENCE IN BELGIUM
- GOI ANNOUNCES DUAL CITIZENSHIP FEE
- GOPIO COORDINATES EFFORTS WITH MALAYSIA
YSS FOUNDATION
- GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS
- GOPIO TRINIDAD
HOLDS AWARDS 2005 LAUNCH DINNER
- NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE
·
FIJI
HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERT NAMED UN MONITOR
- WHITE HOUSE CELEBRATES GURU GRANTH
SAHIB ANNIVERSARY
- GUIANA 1838
- TAX ON NRI DEPOSITS DEFERRED TO APRIL 2005
- APPEAL TO SUPPORT COMMEMORATIVE US STAMP
IN HONOR OF LATE CONGRESSMAN DILIP SINGH SAUND
- GOPIO URGES OF REJECTION OF RABUKA AS
FIJIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE US
- BIHAR
CREATES DISCOVER YOUR ROOTS PACKAGE
·
APPEAL FOR AID
TO FLOOD VICTIMS OF ASSAM
AND BIHAR
- GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION
- EDITORIAL BOARD
GREAT
EXPECTATION AND GREAT OPPORTUNITIES AT GOPIO CONFERENCE IN BRUSSELS , BELGIUM
GOPIO
TRADE AND INVESTMENT CONFERENCE OCTOBER 3-4, 2004
The forthcoming GOPIO Conference on "NRI/PIO
Business Network for Trade and Investment and Contribution of Indian Diaspora
in Europe" in Brussels
(Belgium)
on the 4th. October 2004 will
ask the Indian Diaspora in Europe to play
a pro-active role in Indias
economic development. The Minister
for Overseas Indians of the Government of India will
be the Chief Guest and Dr. L. M. Singhvi, the Chairman of the Commission on
Indian Diaspora will
be the Guest of Honor. Keynote address will
be delivered by Charles
Tannock, Chairman, Friends of India Group in the European Parliament. In addition, several high
profile business leaders
and academicians are slated to
address the Conference. The Conference is being organized in association with
the Mission of India to European Union and in collaboration
with the Indian Embassy in Belgium.
At least eight leading
companies of Europe
are supporting the Conference.
The European Union is Indias
largest trading partner, the major
contributor of development aid and
is home to a large and influential
Indian Diaspora. GOPIO
attaches a very importance to the coming event and expects an
impressive participation from the PIO/NRI community living
in Europe,
from EU based institutions and many multinational
corporations. In addition to the several
dignitaries from India
and other countries, participation of interested business bodies and Chambers
of Commerce in EU countries is also
envisaged.
The
October event will
be the largest gathering of the
NRIs/PIOs in recent times and will
afford unique opportunity to the Indian Diaspora to network. Further, the
Conference will open a
new chapter in GOPIOs efforts in developing
strategic relations between
NRIs/PIOs and Europe
and European Institutions. The Conference will
be attended by business leaders, policy
makers, economists, manufacturers, exporters-importers, consultancy
firms and social activists. In
addition to the inaugural session,
there will
be technical sessions to discuss
issues such as BPO, raising the profile
of the Indian Diaspora, economic contribution of the Indian Community in
Europe, if the Indian American experiment could
be useful in Europe, launching
of the Europe-India Chamber of Commerce, etc.
CONFERENCE
REGISTRATION IS FREE. More than 225 NRI/PIO business and community leaders
from 23 countries have already
signed up for the Conference. Only
very limited registrations are available
now.
DETAILED PROGRAM
Sunday, 3 October 2004, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Comfort Art
Hotel
Siru, Place Rogier 1 - 1210 Bruxelles,
Belgium
GOPIO INTERNATIONAL
MEETING
10 am to 12.30 noon - GOPIO Executive Committee
Meeting (not open to general public)
12.30 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. Lunch
OPEN CONFERENCE SESSIONS
1.30 pm to 2.30 p.m.
SESSION ON GOPIO COUNCIL PLANS AND REPORTS (open to everyone)
Moderated by Inder Singh, President, GOPIO
International
Human Rights Commission - Ashook Ramsaran, Acting
Chairman, GOPIO Human Rights Commission
Business Council
- Dwarkesh Shah (Germany),
Chairman, GOPIO Business Council
Academic Council
- Dr. Jagat Motwani (USA),
Chairman, GOPIO Academic Council
Cultural
Council - Dharmatma Saran (USA),
Chairman, GOPIO Cultural
Council
Philanthropic
Committee - Prabodh Gupta (India),
Coordinator, GOPIO Philanthropic
Committee
2.30 pm to 3.45 p.m.
SESSION ON EUROPEAN COUNTRY REPORTS (open to everyone)
Moderated by Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO
International, USA
Speakers
Belgium - Sunil
Prasad, President, GOPIO-Belgium
(or alternate)
Switzerland Jagdish Makwana, GOPIO Life Member and Coordinator
for Switzerland
Germany - TBD
France - Vimal
Khosla, President, GOPIO-France
Norway - Mohan Verma, President, GOPIO-Norway
UK - J.S. Sachar, GOPIO VP for Europe
Netherlands Dr. H.U. Qureshi, President, GOPIO-Netherlands
Poland J.J. Singh,
India
Association, Poland
Other countries to present reports: Spain, Italy,
Denmark,
Portugal,
Finland,
Sweden (TBD)
(Each country report will
be for 5 minutes. The reports will
be followed
by 10 minutes of open discussion)
3.45 pm to 4.00 p.m. Coffee/Tea Break
4.00 pm to 5.30 p.m.
SESSION ON INDO-EUROPEAN MEDIA COOPERATION (open to everyone)
Moderated by Mr. Sunil
Prasad, President, GOPIO-Belgium
and Mr. K.N. Gupta, President, GOPIO-New Delhi
5.30 p.m onwards - Individual
meeting with media
EVENING PROGRAM - INFORMAL GET TOGETHER (TO BE
DECIDED SOON)
Monday, 4 October 2004
"NRI/PIO Business
Networking for Trade and Investment and Contribution of Indian Diaspora in Europe"
ITUH Auditorium, 5, Boulevard
du Roi Albert II
B - 1210 Bruxelles (Belgium)
08.30 hrs Registration
0930 - 0945 hrs Welcome
address by Sunil
Prasad, President GOPIO, Belgium
0945 0955 hrs Address by: H. E. R. M. Abhyankar, Ambassador of India
to Belgium,
Luxembourg
and the European Union
0955 1015 hrs Inauguration by the
Chief Guest: Minister
for Non-Resident Affairs, Government of India
(TBC)
1015 1030 hrs Keynote Speaker:
Mr. Charles
Tannock, Chairman, Friends of India Group in the European Parliament
1030 -1045 hrs Address by the Guest
of Honor: Dr. L.
M. Singhvi, Chairman, Commission on Indian Diaspora
1045 1055 hrs Concluding Remarks: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO
International
1055 -1105 hrs Greetings: Mr. Inder Singh President, GOPIO International
1105 1125 hrs Coffee/Tea Break
1125 1220 hrs Session I
Contribution of the NRI/PIO
Community in the Economic Development
of Europe
(12-15 minutes for each speaker)
Dr. Mohan Kaul,
CEO and Director General, Commonwealth
Business Council,
UK
Ms. Neena Gill,
Member of the European Parliament
Dr. Willem
Van der Geest, Director, European Institute for Asian Studies, Brussels
(1150 hrs.) Inter-active Session
with the participants
1220 1230 hrs Shining of the Indian Diamantaires
Mr. Bharat G. Shah, Member of the
Board of Indo-BelgeDiamantaires
Association
1230 1320 hrs Raising the Profile
of the INDIAN COMMUNITY in Europe through
channel of communication between
the European Parliament, European
Commission and the Indian Diaspora
Address by
Mr. Nirj Deva, Member of the
European Parliament
Ms. Colette
Mathur, Director, World Economic
Forum, Davos
Mr. Malcolm
Subhan, Media Expert, Europe
(1310 hrs.) Inter-active session
1320 1440 hrs (Lunch & Business
Net-working)
1440 1530 hrs Session II
Launching of the Europe -India
Chamber of Commerce Address by Dr. Ajit Shetty, Chairman & CEO, Janssen Pharmaceutica
and
Mr. Karan Billiomoria,,
Chief Executive, Cobra Beers UK
Session chaired by Mr. R. P. Agrawal,Dy.
Chief of Mission, Indian Embassy, Brussels
Followed
by Discussions, Q&A
1535 1635 hrs
Developing
Cooperation, Building Synergies and
Taking Initiatives for Enhancing Trade and Investment
Presentation by Executive Director,
TERI, India
Indian Economy and Investment
Opportunities for Pravasi Bharatiyas
Mr. Vivek Bharati, Adviser, FICCI, New
Delhi
NRI/PIO Networking: Challenges
and Opportunities
Mr. Dwarkesh Shah, Chairman, Imexma, GmbH Germany
and GOPIO, International Business
Council
(1625 hrs.) Inter-active session
1635 1710 hrs Business Process
Outsourcing to India:
Potentials and Prospects
Mr. H. R. Vinod,, Vice President,
Infosys India
Mr. R. Sivadas, CEO and Director,
SCOPE E-Knowledge Centre on
perspective of "Knowledge
Work and Indian Diaspora".
(1700 hrs.) Inter-active session
1710 1730 hrs "Successful
Experiences of Indian American Entrepreneurs: Tips for Indo-European Diaspora."
Dr. Sid Gautam, Professor of
Economics and Director of Methodist College's
Center for Entrepreneurship Fayetteville,
NC, USA.
1730 1800 hrs Followed
by discussion
1800 1815 hrs. Coffee/Tea
Break
1815 1830 hrs Session III
Conclusion
and Recommendations
----------------------
HOTEL
ACCOMMODATION
Special
conference rates (70 Euros, single
or double, includes
breakfast) for sleeping rooms available
at the following
hotel, located
close to the conference venue.
Comfort Art
Hotel
Siru, Place
Rogier 1 - 1210 Bruxelles,
Belgium
Tl
: 00 32 2 206 12 81. Fax : 00 32 2 206 12 86
Rception : 00 32 2 203 35 80;
Website : www.comforthotelsiru.com
Send an E-mail
requesting accommodation to: art.hotel.siru@skynet.be
REGISTRATION
Those interested to attend the conference may
register with GOPIO-Belgium, 69, Boulevard
Louis Metteswie (bte. 18), 1080 Brussels,
Belgium,
or by telephone 0032-2- 469 2677/
224 0203, fax at 0032-2- 469 2677 or by email:
sunil.prasad@coditel.net or sunil.prasad@icftu.org,
Website: www.gopio-belgium.be
GOI
ANNOUNCES DUAL CITIZENSHIP FEE
The government
of India (GOI) has issued a notification under which people
of Indian origin (PIO) would have
to pay Rs 12,500 to secure Indian overseas citizenship. The PIO will
not be required to have a visa while
visiting India
and can also buy property and enjoy
equality with non-resident Indians
(NRIs) in economic, financial and
educational fields
besides having an overseas Indian passport.
The facility for procuring dual
citizenship has been extended to people
of Indian origin living in Australia,
Canada, Finland,
France, Greece,
Ireland,
Israel,
Italy,
the Netherlands,
New Zealand,
Portugal,
Republic
of Cyprus, Sweden,
Switzerland,
UK and the US.
Of the fee payable for registration
as an overseas Indian citizen, $25 will
be non-refundable, while
the rest will
be returned in case the application
is turned down.
No person who is deprived of his Indian citizenship under this Act will
be registered as an overseas citizen of India
except by an order of the government. For this purpose, the _expression
``Person of Indian Origin'' will
mean a citizen of another country who is eligible
to become a citizen of India
at the time of the commencement of the Constitution or belonged
to a territory that became part of India
after August 15, 1947. The Act does not cover those people
who, at any time, were citizens of Pakistan,
Bangladesh
or any other country which the government may notify in the official
gazette.
GOPIO
COORDINATES EFFORTS WITH MALAYSIA
YSS FOUNDATION
GOPIO International
hosted a dinner reception on August 5 in New York
for Dr Denison Jayasooria, Executive Director of Social
Strategic Foundation (YSS) of Malaysia,
who was in the USA
at the invitation of the US Government. Dr Jayasooira attended the dinner
reception accompanied by Dr Selva
Kumar Ramchandran, Deputy chief for SE Asia
and Pacific, United Nations development
Programme (UNDP). Both Dr
Jayasooria and Dr Ramachandran hail
from Malaysia.
The event was held
at the Maharaja Restaurant in New
York City, as was attended by a sizeable
crowd of GOPIO members and guests, together with local
and international press.
Dr Jayasooria
spoke on: "Issues and Challenges
of People of Indian Origin in Malaysia",
and addressed various aspects of social,
political,
economic life in the Indian
community in Malaysia.
The discussions included both the
struggles and the accomplishments
of the 1.8 million
Indians living in Malaysia,
which accounts for 8% of the total
Malaysian population.
Dr Jayasooria skillfully
articulated a thorough presentation
of life among Indians in Malaysia,
including the social,
educational, political,
economic and inter-ethnic aspects, coupled
with the governments role in policies
that enable progress on several
fronts. He pointed out that "there has been substantial
progress made by Indians in Malaysia,
especially
with increasing levels
of education, the numbers of doctors and lawyers,
and the active participation in the political
process". Yet, he cautioned that there are still
segments of the population, especially
the urban areas that are in need of social
services similar to those being
provided by YSS.
Dr Ramachandran,
who was raised on a plantation,
added his perspectives on unity, diversity and progress among Indians in Malaysia,
stating that "there can be no progress without peace".
There were several
questions and comments from those in attendance, ranging from unity among
Indians in Malaysia,
human rights problems and
government policy to address many
of the problems affecting Indians
in Malaysia.
Dr Thomas
Abraham, Chairman of GOPIO, expressed appreciation to both Dr Jayasooria and Dr
Ramachandran for their attendance and insightful
talks on Indians in Malaysia.
Dr Abraham stated that "GOPIO welcomes
the opportunity to establish a
working partnership with Social
Strategic Foundation to address some of the current critical
issues affecting Indians in Malaysia".
Ashook Ramsaran, Secretary General
of GOPIO, also thanked the guests
and suggested that Malaysian Indian
delegation to Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas 2005 participate in GOPIO conference on January 6 in Mumbai,
India