LEADERSHIP SERIES, 2016
The flagship event of SIIB, Leadership Series, was conducted successfully on 24th September, 2016 on the theme “India-Iran Trade Relations – A New Chapter in Asia’s Geo-Strategic Alliance”. The esteemed guests, H.E. Mr. Gholamreza Ansari (Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ambassador to India), Mr. D.P. Srivastava (Former Indian Ambassador to Islamic Republic of Iran) and Mr. Saroj Khuntia (Deputy General Manager, EXIM Bank) along with Dr. S.B. Mazumdar, Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar and Dr. Asmita Chitnis inaugurated the event with the lighting of the lamp.
Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar highlighted the importance of congenial trade relations between the countries, sharing her own personal experiences with respect to Iran and Iranian students. In addition, Dr. Mazumdar stressed on the importance of “Education” that should be imparted in order to improve the trade relations among the countries.
The chief guest of the event, H.E. Mr. Gholamreza Ansari, discussed about the strategic importance of India-Iran trade relations. He talked about the participation of India in the Chabahar port development, and how it will yield benefits to both the countries in terms of improving trade relations. He said that such cooperation from India will bring in more security and stability, and the Chabahar port deal will be a game changer in the geo-political relations of both the countries. He opined that the comparative advantage of both the countries (Read: India-Energy & Iran-Oil) should be shared so that both countries benefit mutually.
The guest of honour, Mr. Saroj Khuntia, discussed about the contribution of EXIM Bank in facilitating the transactions towards India-Iran projects. Quoting the various stats, he said that an amount of Rs. 3000 crore under export development fund has been extended to 7 Iranian banks, thus strengthening the Indo-Iranian ties. He also talked about the MoU that has been signed between the EXIM bank of India and Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization, which would make a credit line worth more than $150 million available for the development of trade relations for both the countries.
The key note speaker, Mr. D.P. Srivastava, started his discussion from the history of India and Iran, telling the students how both the countries shared much in common in the past. Then, he highlighted the present facets of the Iranian economy, and also discussed about the strategic importance of Chabahar port as well as the proposed deep sea gas pipeline project. He also suggested ways to strength the trade relations among the two countries to sustain the momentum of improved trade relations.
The seminar ended with a Q&A session, where the queries of the students were answered in great detail by the guests. Overall the event was a huge success and the students gained an insightful knowledge on the selected theme.
