NEW DELHI: Veteran actor and activist Shabana Azmi is one of the speakers at the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum taking place during the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards weekend in Tampa later this month.
The weekend is scheduled to take place at the Tampa Convention Center on 24 and 25 April during the 15th Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend and is aimed at promotion of businesses opportunities, trade relations and cinema opportunities between India and the IIFA’s host nation. The event is a joint initiative of IIFA and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
With the trade relationship between India and America at its acme, the theme for the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum will see business delegates discuss "Indo-U.S. Partnership: A Catalyst for Economic Growth".
The effort is being led by the FICCI, University of South Florida College of Business, Wizcraft International Entertainment, and the Tampa Bay Trade and Protocol Council. Other notable partners include Enterprise Florida, Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation, Visit Tampa BayVisit Florida, USIBC and TIE.
The forum will witness the coming together of some of the biggest change drivers, opinion and business leaders from top brands and business houses to engage in dialogue and explore new and promising commercial possibilities.
Some of the visionaries include Dr RK Pachauri who spearheads the Nobel prize winning UN Intergovernmental panel on climate change; Infosys executive chairman and founder NR Narayanmurthy, USIBC president Ron Somers, FICCI secretary general Dr Didar Singh, consul general of India Ajit Kumar, and Congressman Gus Bilirakis.
Some of the prominent women leaders addressing the business forum include Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, US assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs Nisha Desai Biswal, University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft and University of Houston president Renu Khator.
Business icons leading discussions include Syntel chairman Bharat Desai, Ambuja-Neotia group chairman Harshvardhan Neotia, Tata Motors president Ranjit Yadav, Reliance Industries president & CEO Vivek Lall and L&T Infotech CEO Mukesh Aghi.
Among the renowned guests who will grace the forum are over 100 business leaders and policy makers. These eminent personalities will share their precious insights on and examine the copious benefits of a partnership between the two economies.
The Indian-American community has been at the forefront of innovation, knowledge-based services, and entrepreneurship, creating jobs and contributing to the U.S. economy. Two-way trade in goods between India and the U.S. crossed the $60 billion mark in 2012, but there is potential for reaching the $100 billion mark. The Indian economy has grown to be the10th largest in the world, and experts project India will become one of the top five economic powers by 2050.
The two-day long forum will convene a galaxy of prominent personalities representing industry, government, academia and intelligentsia. Sectors that power Trade, Commerce & Investment, along with promising areas of cooperation between India and America such as Media & Entertainment, Education, Tourism and Environment & Clean Technology will come under the scanner.
Some of the key partners of the IIFA US celebrations are: Videocon d2h, Tata Motors, Freedom Health Insurance, Lava Mobiles, Visit Tampa Bay Visitors and Convention Bureau, Visit Florida, Hillsborough County Commission, Jammu & Kashmir Tourism, Vishal Fashions, UST Global and Intuit.
Other support partners include Mosaic Company, Tampa Steel Erecting Company, and Patina Solutions.
