International - India & World   

Indian diaspora event planned in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Singapore is set to host a business-focussed ‘Indian diaspora event’ in October, in a political ambience marked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s view of the city state’s economic pact with India as a “gold standard” agreement.

The prospective conference is being portrayed as the first-ever “Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)” outside India with an exclusive thematic focus on economic issues of interest to overseas Indians. While the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI) will be the prime mover, the other key corporate organiser is the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). And, the Singapore government is extending support for the event, slated under the overall auspices of India’s Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

For the first time, a “mini-PBD” took place in New York in October last year, but the show was not organised on the same scale as now being planned here – styled more simply as “PBD Singapore” from October 9 to 11 this year. Preparations are under way, with SICCI having launched a website http://www.pbdsingapore.com.sg to publicise the theme of “Towards a dynamic diaspora.”

Emphasising the relevance of this new punch-line to the growing profile of the Indian diaspora, SICCI chairman Vijay Iyengar said the conference “will reflect Singapore’s status as a gateway” for India on the international stage, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The “growing ties between India and Singapore” would also be in greater evidence during the event, Mr. Iyengar said. At least 600 delegates – people of Indian origin abroad, resident and non-resident Indians, and foreigners with deep interest in ties with India – were expected to participate.

India’s High Commissioner to Singapore, S. Jaishankar, said: “When we started thinking in terms of the PBD taking place outside India, the idea was: ‘Not every overseas Indian is necessarily able to come to India for a PBD. So, why not do mini-PBDs outside India?’ Then, a suggestion was made, in January 2007, by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister, S. Jayakumar, that ‘if India is thinking in these terms, Singapore will be pleased to host such a PBD.’”

And, the city state, Dr. Jaishankar said, “is a very natural venue for such a PBD, for a variety of reasons – India’s historical association with Singapore, [the presence of] a significant population of Indian origin here, and the fact that the Indian community here has fared exceedingly well.” Overall, the case for a PBD here became “even stronger” because of Singapore’s value to India as an “economic and political gateway” in the East and beyond, he emphasised.

Prime Minister Lee is expected to participate in the inaugural session on October 9, and a major highlight of the conference will be an interactive session with elder statesman and Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, according to Mr. Iyengar. He said the city state’s President, S.R. Nathan, would also associate himself with the event. And, the themes being covered in over a dozen planned sessions include sustainable development, arbitration and dispute resolution, infrastructure, finance and banking, tourism and hospitality, and science and technology.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

2,000 killed in Georgian offensive: Russia
Pakistan Parliament to meet on August 11
Swraj Paul loses CPA poll
High technology drove epic Games opening
Barbadians slam discovery, naming of tiny snake
Campaigners call for Diego Garcia inquiry
Indian diaspora event planned in Singapore

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu