SCCI Vice Presidents’ Meeting

The SCCI Vice Presidents’ Meeting was held virtually on December 9, 2022 at 3.30 p.m. (IST). The meeting was called on by Mr. Iftikhar Ali Malik, President SCCI, with the objective of discussing the matters related to the renewal of recognition of SCCI and the handover of SCCI Presidency from Pakistan to the next country, Bhutan. 

Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Butt, Acting Secretary General SCCI, welcomed the respected participants and officially commenced the meeting. The meeting was attended by Mr. Iftikhar Ali Malik, President SCCI, Mr. Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji, Senior Vice President SCCI / Chair of the Committee on SCCI Recognition, Mr. Vinod Juneja, Vice President (India) SCCI, Mr. Chandi Raj Dhakal, Vice President (Nepal) SCCI, Mr. Haji Ghulam Ali, Vice President (Pakistan) SCCI, Dr. M. Rohitha Silva, Vice President (Sri Lanka) SCCI, Mr. Zubair Ahmed Malik, EC Member (Pakistan) SCCI and Mr. Ruwan Edirisinghe, Immediate Past President SCCI / EC Member (Sri Lanka) SCCI.

Mr. Iftikhar Ali Malik, President SCCI, in his opening remarks, mentioned that the SCCI Headquarters Building has almost been completed, hence the SCCI Secretariat has been operating at the SCCI Headquarters Building since the beginning of 2022. He emphasized that the SCCI Headquarters Building has almost been completed because of the efforts of the Leadership of SCCI Headquarters Building Project Committee and the generosity of the Pakistani Government.

Mr. Iftikhar Ali Malik, President SCCI speaking during the meeting

Mr. Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji, Senior Vice President SCCI / Chair of the Committee on SCCI Recognition, appreciated Mr. Iftikhar Ali Malik, President SCCI, for striving hard to complete the state-of-the-art SCCI Headquarter Building and for his great service for SCCI since its inception.

Mr. Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji, Senior Vice President SCCI speaking during the Vice President’s meeting

During the meeting, it was discussed that the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) together with Mr. Vinod Juneja, Vice President (India) SCCI should try their best to get the support of the Ministry of External Affairs of India for the renewal of SCCI recognition at the Meeting of the Council of SAARC Foreign Ministers and the Standing Committee. It was further emphasised that the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI) together with Mr. Chandi Raj Dhakal, Vice President (Nepal) SCCI should try their best to urge the SAARC Secretariat, based in Nepal, to take necessary and effective steps for organizing the Meeting of the Council of SAARC Foreign Ministers and the Standing Committee at the earliest possible time.

During the meeting, Vice President SCCI (Sri Lanka), Dr. Rohitha Silva invited President SCCI and all Vice Presidents to Colombo at the SAARC Tourism Forum (SAARC Tourism Ministers / Foreign Ministers Congress) in February/March 2023 focusing on promoting the South Asian tourism industry. It was suggested that the same platform could be used for lobbying the SAARC member governments to support SCCI in terms of receiving the renewal of recognition from SAARC as an apex body.