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Indian Industrialist BM Farookh to strengthen relations with the OIC Countries for promoting Economic Diplomacy

The India OIC Trade Conference, held at Niryat Bhawan, Delhi, was a landmark event that brought together distinguished delegates from India and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries like Chad, Niger, Sudan and Bahrain. The conference, which aimed to strengthen economic ties, foster mutual understanding, and explore avenues for collaboration across various sectors, was met with resounding success.

Dr Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, president of the All India Imam Organisation, highlighted India's role as a "Vishwa Guru" (world leader) and its profound sense of responsibility in promoting peace, leadership, and commercial relations. He emphasised India's readiness to engage with countries, regardless of their size, and highlighted various peace-building initiatives undertaken by the All India Imam Organisation. Ambassador Amrit Lugun, former Ambassador of India to Greece and Yemen, focused on the economic relations between India and OIC countries, stressing the importance of robust people-to-people relations for fostering mutual understanding and cooperation.

Bawa Mohammed Farookh, founder, chairman and managing director, Fiza Group of Companies in Bangalore and chairman of the India OIC Trade Council, emphasised the importance of collective contribution in the field of renewable energy. He expressed his commitment to strengthening India-OIC relations, highlighting the role of renewable energy in achieving sustainable growth and development. During his long 25 years of business career, Farookh under his various business establishments identified, developed and established wind power projects on a turnkey basis aggregating to more than 2000MW across India by attracting Investors from overseas. This will be a great initiative in the International Solar Alliance of which most of the OIC countries have strong appreciation and Mr Farook’s support in strengthening India's role in energy diplomacy was highly commended by the OIC Country diplomats. Mr. Farookh is also a Member of the Legislative Council in the Government of Karnataka, India.

Muawia Elbukhari, Ambassador of Sudan to India, highlighted the strong and enduring relationship between India and Sudan, emphasizing the potential for further collaboration and growth. The MOU was signed between the India OIC Trade Council represented by the Chairman and the SRM University represented by its registrar for the promotion of collaborations between the university and the OIC countries.

Zaliktou Boubacar, first secretary of the Niger Embassy, highlighted the potential collaboration between India and Niger across various sectors, emphasising the importance of bilateral cooperation for economic growth and development. She supported various academic collaborations between Indian Academic institutions and the OIC University of Niger where there are tremendous strategic partnerships to be made with Indian institutions.

Dr Asif Iqbal, president of the Indian Economic Trade Organisation, commended India's role in the G20 and its efforts to engage with African nations of OIC. He expressed confidence in replicating these successes in India's relations with OIC countries and congratulated the newly appointed Chairman of the India OIC Trade Council. Dr. Iqbal outlined seven task forces, including Youth, Women, MSME, Agriculture, Medical Tourism, Renewable Energy, and IT & Education, seeking support from OIC country delegates to drive these initiatives forward.

The India OIC Trade Conference concluded with a renewed commitment to strengthening economic ties, fostering mutual understanding, and promoting peace and prosperity in the region and beyond.

The chairman BM Farookh was felicitated by the Chief Imam of India Dr Imam Umer Ilyasi and the Ambassador of Sudan, the Deputy Ambassador of Chad, the First Secretary of Nigeria, Ambassador Amrit Lugun IFS, and the vice-chancellor of SRM University.

Ammar Tarique is a business journalist