In a first of its kind, the High Commissioner of India, Sanjiv Kohli met with the members of Indian media in New Zealand in an open forum held at the newly opened Auckland Consulate office.
The meeting was first in both sense, the High Commissioner’s visit to the Consulate Office and meeting with Indian media in an open forum.
Mr Kohli arrived in Auckland on Saturday, March 3, on a two-day official tour to interact with the large Indian diaspora.
The tour began with a meeting with representatives of Indian media where Mr Kohli straightaway acknowledged the role of ethnic media in extending High Commission’s outreach to the community.
“The main purpose of this meeting today was to thank you, for helping the High Commission in extending its outreach to the Indian community in NZ,” Mr Kohli said.
Mr Kohli began his address by stating how well bilateral relations between India and New Zealand have progressed in the last two years of his reign as High Commissioner.
“We started in 2016 when I joined the mission here with an immediate visit by the President of India. The same year we had an inward visit by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand.
“It doesn’t happen very often that in the same year you have two high-level visits, one inward and one outgoing. Both those visits have put the relationship on a fast track.
“This year we had a bilateral meet between Indian and New Zealand Prime Minister on the sides of East Asia Summit, which was very successful,” Mr Kohli said.
Subsequently, the forum was opened for questions from the Indian ethnic media, where questions were raised on issues related to Passport, visa, electronic-visa, Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card, and the requirement of Adhar Card back in India.
The High Commissioner expressed satisfaction on the number of services currently being delivered from the Consulate Office, however, emphasised on the need to not see the importance of the Office from the prism of the number of services currently being delivered.
“Our desire to open this office in Auckland was driven less by the number of services to be offered but by a desire to have our representative on the ground in the city where a large number of Indian community resides.
“With the growing size of our community in Auckland, there are a large number of issues such as those related to international students, tragic deaths and accidents in the community and issues of domestic problems, which sometimes involve visits to places like prisons, police stations and hospitals.
“Our Consulate office acts as our eyes and ears in those situations by offering immediate help to those in need,” Mr Kohli affirmed.
Immediately after the meeting with the media, the High Commissioner had a meeting with the key leaders of main community organisations in Auckland.
While the meeting with the press was focused more on discussion and evaluation of the actions taken in the past, the meeting with the community leaders was more forward-looking and futuristic.
The High Commissioner discussed and received feedback from the community leaders about merits of organising some major community events in this year.
A few ideas were proposed and delved into, and the High Commissioner assured that their office would soon be taking decisions on these matters and announcing publically.
Toward the end, Mr Kohli once again reminded everyone in the room to disseminate information about the Government of India’s coveted programme “Know India,” whereby students and young professionals of the Indian origin are being encouraged to feel connected with their motherland and be motivated and inspired by transformational changes taking place in India.
This year a “know India Quiz” is scheduled to be organised sometime in May 2018, followed by a few rounds, and those who reach third and fourth round will be invited by the Government of India on a 15-day tour to India. The top three winners will be further honoured and receive special awards at the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention, 2019.
The High Commissioner appealed to all present on the occasion to widely publicise the event, which should translate into community participation that rightly reflects the size of the Indian diaspora in New Zealand. (You can register here to participate in the Know India Quiz)
ISSUE
Leave a Comment