Canada India Foundation (CIF).

After leading it through two years of remarkable growth, the Ottawa Diplomatic Association's president, Romanian Ambassador Elena Stefoi, has passed the torch.

Japanese Ambassador Tsuneo Nishida was unanimously acclaimed the new president at the association's 10th annual general meeting, held at the Romanian Embassy on Wednesday night.
Perhaps it was Mr. Nishida who best described Ms. Stefoi's legacy:
"She has done a really wonderful job," he remarked. "You have shoes so big!"

The ODA also elected a new executive committee. The new team consists of Slovenian Ambassador Tomaz Kunstelj as first vice-president, Haitian charge d'Affaires Nathalie Gissel-Menos as second vice-president, Latvian Ambassador Margers Krams as secretary-general, Ecuadorian charge d'Affaires Oscar Izquierdo as deputy secretary-general, Libyan counsellor Sadegh Ben Sadegh as treasurer and Costa Rican second secretary Samy Araya Rojas as deputy treasurer.

The association also elected three members-at-large to the executive committee: Panamanian minister counsellor Jorge Constantino; Filipino second secretary Eloy Luis Bello; and Israeli deputy head of mission Amit Gil Bayaz.

Presiding over the elections was Roy Christensen, spokesman for the European Commission's delegation in Ottawa. Mr. Christensen is indeed the institutional memory of the ODA, having overseen all 10 of the general meetings the association has held since its founding.

Delivering her final report, Ms. Stefoi told the assembled membership that when she took the association's reins in 2006, the organization had only 24 members, among them a paltry three ambassadors. After a two-year recruitment drive, however, membership has quadrupled to 100 diplomats, among them 29 heads of mission.

The new ambassadorial members include New Zealand High Commissioner Kate Lackey, Swiss Ambassador Werner Baumann, Iraqi Ambassador Howar Ziad, U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins and Polish Ambassador Piotr Ogrodzinski, to name a few.

But despite the success, the indomitable Ms. Stefoi wants more, and called out a few of the embassies that have been reluctant to get on board.
"There is no room for being self-satisfied," she said, "as long as we have not been successful in getting involved embassies representing a lot of countries, among them, for instance, Russia, Germany and France."
Special thanks went out to Robert Peck, DFAIT's chief of protocol, and his predecessor Malcolm McKechnie. Under the pair's leadership, co-operation between the association and DFAIT has expanded, with the Office of Protocol assisting in a range of functions and activities.

Ms. Stefoi also took the chance to reminisce about all the events the ODA has put on this year.

Many will remember January's second Diplomatic Ski Day, put on by the Embassy of Slovenia and the Office of Protocol. A number of fundraising events were also held, including the silent auction fundraising gala "What a Girl Wants" in November, in which 16 embassies and high commissions donated treasures from home for the benefit of the Canadian Liver Foundation. The Embassy of Iraq also hosted a fundraiser evening for the Canadian Council of the Blind in May.

Ms. Stefoi also thanked Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs for its continuing speakers series, the Ambassador's Roundtable. This year, the forum featured speeches by American Ambassador David Wilkins, Ghanaian Ambassador Margaret Ivy Amoakohene and the now-departed ambassadors from China and Saudi Arabia, Lu Shumin and Abdulaziz Al-Sowayegh.

She also thanked Tim Kane of the National Press Club for hosting a series of press luncheons, which featured Canadian diplomatic granddaddy Allan Gotlieb and NPSIA vice-president Fen Hampson.

Mr. Nishida expressed confidence in his new team, and appealed to them to continue the good work of the association.

The new committee will soon meet to begin planning on this year's events, which includes the annual Welcoming Weekend for Diplomats, scheduled for Oct. 3-5.

Blockbuster Indian Delegation
In an encouraging sign that Canada is catching the attention of one of the world's hottest emerging economies, a huge and high-powered Indian delegation paid a visit to Canada last week.

The "India Calling" delegation, composed of some 145 delegates, was the largest-ever Indian trade delegation to visit Canada.

Delegates included a range of powerbrokers, including ministers from the central and state governments and businesspeople from the information technology, education, infrastructure, mining and energy sectors.
The Indians attracted the attention of Canada's political elite and were shown the ropes by Indian High Commissioner Rajamani Narayan and Satish Mehta, consul general of India in Toronto. Friendly organizations like the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, the Canada-India Business Council and the Canada-India Foundation also threw their weight behind the visit.
The delegation started out in Toronto, where the first big event was a speech by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister David Emerson, which was music to Indian ears.

Along with Kapil Sibal, India's minister of science and technology, Mr. Emerson announced the launch of 10 new Canada-India joint science and technology initiatives worth $17 million.

"I'm here today to tell you that the Government of Canada is listening to the calls for closer economic co-operation," the super-minister said. "We too recognize the incredible opportunities in our relationship. And we're doing something about it. India is a top priority of our Global Commerce Strategy."

Minister Emerson also reminded the crowd two new trade offices will soon open in Hyderabad and Kolkata, adding to existing offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Chennai and Bangalore.

The Indians, however, were not totally satisfied.
 
Naresh Raghubeer, national policy director for the Canada India Foundation, said the Mumbai businesspeople are hungry for a visa office.

"They told Minister Emerson that there's desperate need for a visa processing office in Mumbai," he said. "It's something the Canada-India Foundation has been asking for for over a year. The delegation would be larger, but it takes 10 days to get a visa."

While in Toronto, the delegation also heard from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Sandra Pupatello, Ontario's minister of economic development and trade.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay also took some time out of his busy schedule to meet the delegation. Mr. MacKay visited India a few months back to try and drum up support for the Atlantic Gateway, and word on the street is that he wants to go back in some four months time.

On Tuesday, the delegation packed up and jetted off to Vancouver for another series of seminars and a speech from B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell.
The group was guided through the ins and outs of Canadian business and politics by Gary Luton, Canada's consul general in Mumbai.

The trip was the brainchild of Murlidhar Narayan Chaini, president of the Mumbai-based Indian Merchants' Chamber. Mr. Chaini told Chatter House Wednesday that Canada has to get a piece of the Indian pie before it gets beat to the punch.

"Canadians have seen that they cannot ignore the Indian market and Indian potential," he said. "If they don't act, others will. Maybe Australians or somebody else. It is very important that they exploit this and take advantage of the opportunity."

But if this trip is any indication, Canadians are catching on.
"Deals are being discussed," he said. "There are deals already."

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