Daijiworld Media Network - Dubai

Dubai, Nov 13: Kanara Entrepreneurs jointly hosted an event with a delegation from CCCI, Mumbai on Tuesday, November 12 evening at the India Club Dubai to interact with Mumbai entrepreneurs as well as to felicitate Mangalore International Airport former director M R Vasudeva. 

Sanjay Verma, the Consul General, Consulate General of India, Dubai was the chief guest. Albert D’Souza, chairman, Aldel Education Trust, Mumbai, Vincent Mathias, chairman, Velvin Group of Companies, Mumbai, Henry Lobo,  chairman, CCCI, Mumbai were the guests of honour.

Alfred Vaz welcomed the gathering.

Addressing the gathering, Sanjay Verma congratulated the Canara Christian entrepreneurs' contribution to UAE as well as back home in India.

He pointed out that the Catholic community in India is lagging behind in certain areas like government services and entrepreneurship. Trust is important factor in entrepreneurship. "If you see why only few communities in India are successful in entrepreneurship, like Marwardis, Sindhis etc, it is because of the fact they built up trust among themselves."

He said that contribution of Indians in the UAE is remarkable. "About 50 percent of Indian residents here are semi-skilled, and rest are executives, professionals and entrepreneurs. There are about 14 billionaires in UAE, with at least 13 from Dubai alone. India is a powerful nationality in the UAE," he said.

"Business in UAE is recovering compared to 2008 recession, except in the real estate field. Tourism, trading and other businesses are slowly falling back on track," he said.

Sanjay Verma appreciated the 40-member delegation of Mumbai entrepreneurs who were present during the event and said delegations like these influence those entrepreneurs back home who are interested in studying, researching here.

"The trade between India and UAE is currently at 1.2 billion USD. UAE is among the top 10 investors in India, and India is among the top three investors in the UAE," he said.

During the interaction, he said he was ready to form a strong team of entrepreneurs from India who could represent Indian enterpeneurs to address problems faced by them with the Dubai or UAE government.

On behalf of KEL and CCI he felicitated M R Vasudeva for his efforts in making Mangalore airport an international one, and also for his enormous contribution to the development of Canara region. Sanjay Verma presented shawl, fruits, flowers, citation and memento. His wife was also present.

Shobha Mendonca read out the citation to the audience.

Acknowledgement the felicitation M R Vasudeva said that he never imagined that people here were so grateful for the work done by him. "I am truly honoured, and have no words to thank you," he said, "I could not have done so much without the support from the aviation department, my superiors, and specially, support from NRIs."

He made a special mention of Karnataka NRI Forum led by Rajesh Sequeira and Daijiworld.com web portal, both of whom, he said, played key roles in his success, in getting international flights as well as international tag to Mangalore airport.

He requested the Consul General to support NRIs from the coastal region in their demand for more international flights to Mangalore through Jet Airways and other private airlines.

Ivan Fernandes, president, KEL in his address briefed the achievements of KEL as well introduced the CCCI to the audience. "Network is the core objective and key to success of entrepreneurship. KEL encourages and appreciates whenever there is initiative for entrepreneurship from people of Canara region."

Henry Lobo, chairman of CCCI spoke of the activities of CCCI and introduced the delegation and their expertise to the audience. He spoke of his vision to take CCCI beyond its current boundaries and tie up with other like-minded organisations.

Albert D’Souza, vice-chairman of CCCI and chairman, Aldel Education Trust spoke on the current scenario for higher education in India.  He gave statistics on the current status of professional education and provided some of the initiatives of the government to match the current gap of professionals through various alternative schemes.

Vincent Mathias, founder chairman of CCCI spoke on the current economic scenario in India.  He highlighted the opportunities in a country where over 50 percent of the population is below the age of 25 with good disposable income and compared the current consumer spending statistics with China and the developed world.  He said that India is one of the few countries that has the highest consumer consumption capability and several corporates are looking to enter India to exploit this opportunity.

Albert Rodrigues, event director proposed the vote of thanks.

A dinner was hosted for everyone who attended the event.