A 19 member business delegation from the Federation of Gujarat Industries (FGI) headed by Mr. Bharat Shah visited Philippines from 18-20, Feb 2017. . The delegation profile represented multi sectors such as Oil, Electrical & Energy, Engineering and manufacturing, Pharma, Chemicals, Agriculture, IT and Real Estate. The Embassy of India in association with the Philippine India Business Council, which comes under the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry, worked together to hold an inaugural function followed by a BSM on 20 Feb 2017. The key note address was delivered by Mr. George Barcelon, President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry in which he spoke about reinforcing bilateral business ties. He mentioned that Philippines and India with over 6% growth in GDP in both countries presented a great opportunity to take the economic ties to a new level. He acknowledged the role of Indian IT BPO and Pharma companies who through their presence here have contributed to the employment of Filipino people. Mr. Ramakrishnan, Cda gave an overview of the Indian economy and spoke specifically about Gujarat and its potential. . With a view to provide useful insights on different sectors to the delegation members, the speakers were chosen from Government departments, Associations and industry people. Mr. Senen Perlada, Director dealing with India in the Department of Trade and Industry spoke on India-Philippines bilateral trade; Dr. Dan Lachica, President of Philippine Association of Semiconductor and Electronic Industries on electronics industry, ( Semi conductors constitute 50% of exports from Philippines) Mr. Dennis Tirthdas, President of Association of Chemical Industries of the Philippines (SPIK) on Chemicals, Mr. Ramon Escueta, Director for Energy, Power and Water from PCCI on energy, Mr. Manoj Sihag, Country Head, Hetero Drugs on Pharma and Mr. Roberto Amores, President & CEO, Hi-Los Marketing on Agriculture. Mr. Johnny Chotrani, Chairman, Philippines-India Business Council and Mr Bharat Desai, Head of Delegation, Federation of Gujarat Industries also spoke on the occasion. The inaugural was followed by the BSM in which about 80 people from various sectors had an engaging session with the 19 member delegation. The visit of FGI was a successful event which gave an opportunity to our members to gain an insight on the various sectors here and to conclude business deals.