By Sachin Murdeshwar

 

Mumbai: India ITME Society today announced its 40th year of service to the Indian & International Textile Machinery & Textile Technology industry.  To celebrate their undeterred and excellent service for over four decades, India ITME Society launched a commemorative postal stamp as a mark of pride and humble gratitude to a great nation.

India ITME Society took a bold step towards projecting India as a friendly & feasible sourcing destination for African SMEs, Designers & Entrepreneurs.   This aided in opening up new customers for the Indian Textile Industry.

During this memorable event, it organized a B2B meeting with women Entrepreneurs from 4 African nations viz. Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda & Kenya and aimed to empower women all across the world and introduced ‘Women Entrepreneur Initiative’, one of the many value added services for the benefit of the industry and the nation.

Mr Hari Shankar – Chairman of India ITME Society said, “India ITME Society acknowledges the importance of industry associations by supporting trade and investment for its members not only domestically, but also globally.  The society is encouraging dialogue between industry associations, developing better business connects between countries and expanding customer connect & market access globally through associations as part of their ‘Global Connect Initiative’.

India ITME Society has evolved into a global phenomenon embracing internationalism and reaching out to emerging economies. India witnessed its first exhibition in 1980 & since then the legacy has been successfully carried forward.

Its exhibitions series namely India ITME Series & GTTES along with several supporting initiatives have heralded a new era in the Textile Engineering Industry. Furthering the objective of promoting trade and investments, creating a friendly environment and forging a vibrant private sector partnership with the Government, Business Community, Development Partners and other Stakeholders.

Today’s event began, with lighting of lamp by Chief guest Justice Shri P. Sathasivam – Former Chief Justice of India, Former Governor of Kerala; Guest of honour H.E. Ms Dorothy Tembo – Deputy Executive Director, International Trade Centre, UN and Special Guest Ms. Swati Pandey – Postmaster General (Mumbai Region), India Post (Govt. of India). followed by cocktail dinner.

A special interactive session on “strengthening bilateral trade relation with neighboring countries” was organized for industry members, associations and officials on the same day. This session was addressed by H.E – Ms. Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director, International Trade Centre, UN, who was in India for the first time, to encourage Indo – Africa bilateral trade relations. This unique session provided an opportunity for participants to interact with industry associations from Botswana, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Turkey, Ghana, Switzerland and India.

In the panel discussion, the topic “Role of Associations in strengthening bilateral trade” was delivered by panel speakers Mr. Govind Venuprasad – International Trade Centre’s (ITC); Mr. Krishna Chinniah – President of the Botswana Textile & Clothing Association; Mr. Faruque Hassan – Consulate General of Greece in Bangladesh; Mr. Richard Salvatore – General Coordinator (TEMSAD); Mrs. Doris N. Kessie – CEO/DIRECTOR of D-G EMBROIDERY and Doress Fashion & Designs Institute; Prof. Dr.-Ing. Yves-Simon Gloy. Mr. Gloy – RWTH Aachen University, Germany and H.E. Mr. Demeke Atnafu Ambulo – The Consulate General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Mumbai.