JEDDAH — The Saudi Indian Business Network (SIBN), working under the aegis of the Consulate General of India, led a delegation of 30 businessmen to the recently concluded global exhibition on services in New Delhi. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated the three-day exhibition on April 23. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) organized the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) in New Delhi. The objective was to create a global platform for increased trade in services and to enhance strategic cooperation and develop synergies between the Indian and global businessmen. More than 40 countries participated in the exhibition and related seminars, providing an opportunity for service providers to interact and showcase their products and services. The 10 service sectors in focus were IT and telecom, tourism, media and entertainment, healthcare, logistics, professional services, education, SMEs in services, research and development and space. The 30-member delegation led by the SIBN team was perceived to be one of the strongest delegations from the Middle East. The Saudi stand, managed by SIBN with arrangements for business meetings, was well attended for all the three days of the event. Day one started with a seminar on “Strengths and opportunities in the services sector between India and Gulf/ Middle East/ West Asia/ North Africa”. From Saudi Arabia, the speaker was Dr. Hani Hasan Fetyani, CEO of HHF Development Consultants. His presentation was very well received by the Indian and International delegates. He stole the show with his oratory and out of the box solutions. The other delegates used the CII meeting facilities and the Saudi Arabia Stall for B2B meetings. The Indian Importers Association (IIA) hosted a business dinner in honor of the Saudi delegates. Saudi Ambassador to India Saud Al-Sati met with the delegates and assured his full support and cooperation in doing business with India. He suggested increased high-level interaction between the two sides. The second day was busy with scheduled B2B meetings for individual Saudi businessman. Hamza Sobhi A. Batterjee, Hesham Al-Amoudi, Adnan Ahmed Jameel Zagzoog, Ali Mohammed Muhadib and Ahmed Al-Attas had meeting with Indian businessmen in areas of their interest, including hotel and tourism, healthcare, mining and aviation. Some of the major participants included Taj Group of Hotels and Apollo Hospital. Haridas, deputy director of CII for Gulf, Middle-East & North Africa, and was instrumental in arranging the meetings, with Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki from SIBN playing a key role in some cases. Mohammed A Al-Nefai and Riaz Mulla had meeting with Amity University and the Math Buster and signed two memorandum of understanding while Aijaz Khan had fruitful meetings with construction companies. Dr. Hani Fetyani was present the whole day at the stand and guided the visitors who visited the SIBN stall. Other team members, including Majeedul Hassan, Vijay Soni, Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki, Asim Zeeshan Khan and Zakaria Gulam Ahmed Biladi, were present at the SIBN pavilion at different times for guiding visitors. C.A. Vijay Soni addressed a gathering at the ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) conclave on bilateral business and investment opportunities and potential scope for chartered accountants' services in supporting business growth. Separately, the issues being faced by the IGNOU center in Jeddah was also taken up with higher authorities in India with support of CII, Riaz and Vijay Soni. The day's events concluded with an address by India's Minister of State of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, who personally came and met the Saudi delegates at their table. This was followed by a cultural evening, Indian folk dances and dinner arranged by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The third day was for going around the exhibition and to consult the Indian exhibitors at their stalls. Particular emphasis was on medical tourism and health services. Fatima Anwar Ibrahim Alaqqad and Syed Ahmad Abdul Qader made business deals while Taha Ali A. Haddad and Syed Nomaan Majeed Business established business contacts with IT firms and others. A brochure was released by SIBN to mark the occasion, which was sponsored by the Al-Abeer Group. The initiative of Consul General of India B.S. Mubarak was key to making the visit of this large delegation to the GES a big success. The event drew attention to abundant opportunities for Indo-Saudi business, with various well-known groups and institutions showing interest in developing partnerships. Most of delegates expressed their desire to be part of the next GES delegation in February 2016. Efforts are being made to keep regular interaction with CII and other trade bodies to ekep the various platforms abreast of issues and opportunities to business community, SIBN said in a press statement. The SIBN core team will evaluate and promote credible business promotion events in coming months, the statement said, adding that certain events being evaluated currently include GCC Business summit, International Gems and Jewelry show in Mumbai, Apparel and Garments Exhibition in Delhi, a medical tourism show in Jeddah and a seminar on solar power. The management and organization of the tour was done by the core committee of SIBN, comprising Syed Majeedul Hassan, general secretary; Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki, executive secretary; Vijay Soni, treasurer; and Zakaria Gulam Ahmed and Asim Zeeshan Khan of the event management team. — SG
