Consulates Conclave followed by Felicitations

A need to maintain a continuous relationship with Consulate Offices located in Chennai gave birth to this meeting. As a first step the US Consulate and the Malaysian Consulate were invited. And as envisioned, the meeting showed the multitude of opportunities available and how ready and willing the officers are to help.

The first Speaker was Mr.James Golsen, Principal Commercial Officer for South India, U.S. Consulate and he spoke on “Doing Business in the U.S.” He spoke about the various services offered by the Consulate including match making the right trade partnership with a local vendor. And how they hope to improve the position of India from being the 13th largest Trading Partner of USA to the top 5. He also shared with us the upcoming programs, trade delegations visiting the Country.

The next Speaker was Ms. Monica Sledjeski, Political/Economic Officer on U.S. Consulate’s Women Empowerment Engagement who elaborated on Student Education opportunities the various scholarships available. She also promised to work with FLO for joint meetings with visiting Speakers.

From the Malaysian Consulate Mr.Kunaseelan, Labour Attache briefed about the history of Indo- Malay ties and present economic collaborations taking place. He encouraged more people to visit Malaysia and also brought several brochures, content on the various schools and colleges of repute with international affiliation which could be a credible option for Indian students.

The session with the Consulates was followed by Felicitation of the 5 Women Achievers who were awarded during the Inter State at Delhi. After the introduction of the Awardees, each Awardee was called on stage and presented a gift by Ms.Usha Krishna. They all then thanked FLO and everybody involved for having made their dream come true.

The Consulates who were present during the felicitations were very impressed with the Awardees and expressed a desire to visit some of them and their projects. They also spoke of the Awards that they conduct and that FLO nominees can also participate in them.