America
Pravasi Divas in Chicago charts action packed program
“Illinois is the largest trading partner of India in the US
Midwest with a total trade of US$ 2.01 billion in 2014, which
includes India's exports of US$ 1.364 billion, registering an increase of 14.4% in
exportsâ€, said Dr. Sayeed.
Dr. Sayeed congratulated the Indian-Americans for
contributing to the economic growth of the US Midwest and hoped that this trend
would get further strengthened in future. “There are 80 Indian Companies operating
in the US Midwest, which have made cumulative investments of US $ 2.3
billion and have created 13,841 jobsâ€, he added.
“During 2016, the efforts of the Consulate would be directed
towards strengthening the political, economic, cultural, educational, and
people-to-people relationships between India and the US Midwest and, towards
this, it would consolidate its working relationships with the offices of the
Governors, Lt. Governors, Mayors, elected representatives, senior officials of
Economic Departments of various States and leading Chambers of Commerceâ€, said
Dr. Sayeed.
With a sense of pride, Dr. Sayeed announced that the Trade
Delegations from Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic
Opportunity, led by its Director, Jim Schultz, North Dakota Trade Mission, led
by Drew Wrigley, Lt. Governor, the follow up Trade Mission of Michigan Economic
Development Corporation, led by Lt. Governor Brian Calley, and a few more
Business Delegations are expected to visit different cities of India in the
coming months. “These visits by the high-level Delegations will further
consolidate and enrich the bilateral relations between
“During 2016, the Consulate would organize a number of
high-impact making seminars in collaboration with Illinois Chambers of
Commerce, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Kellogg School of Management,
Northwestern University, India Chamber of Commerce, Minneapolis, Chicago
Council on Global Affairs, US-India Chamber of Commerce, TiE, etc.â€, said Dr.
Sayeed. “These high-profile events, he said, would be greatly instrumental in
giving a big boost to strategic and economic partnership
between the
Dr. Sayeed said that, in addition to such cultural events as
Republic Day Flag Hoisting, Independence Day Flag Hoisting, 2nd International
Yoga Day, Kala Utsav, Gandhi Jayanti, and Constitution Day, the Consulate
will screen the films 'India Awakes’ and “For Here Or To Goâ€, in
collaboration with the International House, University of Chicago, present Fusion
Band and Stree Shakti Hindustani Instrumental Group, sponsored by ICCR,
organize 2nd India-US Friendly Polo Tournament, in collaboration with
Oakbrook Polo Club, and continue to give patronage to different socio-cultural
organizations in Chicagoland in organizing such programs as “Eye on Indiaâ€,
“Chicago South Asian Film Festivalâ€, “Hindi Lovers Clubâ€, etc.
Dr. Sayeed said that during 2015, the Consulate has rendered
a total of 77,642 services, the breakup being 36,267 visas, 15,898
passports, 13,896 OCI cards, 211 Emergency Certificates, 278 PIO Cards, and
11,092 miscellaneous consular services.
“As part of its outreach
activities, the Consulate will organize “Open House†at its premises at least
once every quarter. Besides, Consular Camps are planned in Chicago Suburbs,
Dr Sayeed lauded the Indian-American Diaspora (Pravasis) for making significant
contributions to the socio-economic development of India and invited them to
whole-heartedly participate in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Flagship
Programs, including “Make in Indiaâ€, “Skills Indiaâ€, “Swatch Bharat
Abiyanâ€, “Digital Indiaâ€, and “Green Indiaâ€. He advised them to
engage with the Government of India by using the portal: MyGov.in
To mark the Vishwa Hindi Divas (World Hindi Day), which
falls on January 10th, 2016, a special message from Narendra Modi was
read out. The efforts of the Consulate towards promotion of Hindi in
Chicagoland were also highlighted.
Dr. Sayeed introduced Desh Bandhu Bhati, Consul (Commercial,
Political and Visa) and Rajeshwari Chandrasekaran, Consul (CG's Office), who
joined recently.
As part of the Parvasi Bhartiya Divas, three local organizations, “Prathamâ€,
“Bharathi Theertha†and “India Development Coalition of America†shared
their experiences of working on socio-economic and developmental projects in
O P Meena, Consul (Community Welfare), welcomed the gathering and also proposed
a vote of thanks.
Photographs and Press release by: Asian Media USA