Delegates, life members and observers from all over New Zealand attended the 84th Annual General meeting of the New Zealand Central Indian Association (NZICA) on March 27 at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre in Auckland.
The day long meeting also hosted Prime Minister John Key, the Leader of the Opposition, Phil Goff, Auckland Mayor, John Banks, Members of Parliament Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi and Dr Jackie Blue; and Labour MPs Chris Carter and Dr Rajen Prasad.
His Excellency Admiral (Retd.) Sureesh Mehta, the Indian High commissioner, attended the afternoon session and addressed the conference.
The meeting concluded with the election of office bearers for 2010-2011. Paul Singh Bains, JP was elected President; Harshadbhai Patel (Vice President); Rajeev (Raj) Singh Thandi JP (General Secretary); Raj Bedi (Assistant Secretary); and Manjit Singh (Treasurer).
Ratilal Champaneri (past president) was granted life membership for his services to the NZICA.
The relationship between New Zealand and India is fundamental to New Zealand’s future and economic well-being. New Zealand exports to India have tripled over the last decade.
The growing community of Indian New Zealanders highlights the importance of bilateral trade and investment between India and New Zealand, Mr Raj Thandi, the new General Secretary said in a media release.
Indian Weekender was also honoured by the NZICA at the meeting for its positive reporting of Indians and Indian events in New Zealand. Publisher Giri Gupta accepted the honour on behalf of Indian Weekender.