Ambassador Akhilesh Mishra (3rd left) pictured during his visit to Shannon Chamber with (from left): Abhilash Borana, CEO and founder, Failte Solar; Mrs Reeti Mishra; Eoin Gavin, managing director, Eoin Gavin Transport and president, Shannon Chamber; Helen Downes, CEO, Shannon Chamber; Gurmukh Neote, CEO, BBNET; Sean Ganley, Chief Sales Officer, Tekelek and; Marcus Creaven, managing director, AGC Instruments Ltd. Photograph by Eamon Ward

A twinning arrangement between local universities and their counterparts in India was proposed as one means of achieving greater linkages between the Mid-West region and India at a recent briefing for the Indian Ambassador to Ireland, Akhilesh Mishra.

At the briefing hosted by Shannon Chamber, the possibility of the Chamber collaborating with similar-type organisations in the Asian country was also discussed.

The Ambassador spoke about his wish to see greater business, social and cultural links between Shannon and India. “I would encourage every initiative at local level that aims to grow such contacts so that Indian-Irish links are spread throughout the regions here,” he said.

Welcoming the Ambassador, Eoin Gavin, Shannon Chamber President said that the Chamber is very interested in fostering links with India. “We are anxious to facilitate, at every opportunity, efforts by our members to develop further mutually beneficial business and social links with Indian firms, business groupings and other interests,” he added.

During his visit to Shannon, Ambassador Mishra. and his wife, Reeti, were also briefed on various business linkages that exist already between Shannon firms and India.

Gurmukh Singh Neote, who came from India as a teen when his father, Paramjit, established Shannon Aircraft Motorworks, now operates three businesses from Shannon. BBnet, Irish Wireless & Pro Winet offer a range of Internet, WiFi and related solutions, serving markets in Ireland, theUK, Continental Europe, Singapore and Africa.

Gurmukh also spoke about the vibrant Indian community that has grown in Shannon in recent years, involving many social and cultural interactions.

Abhilash Borana, Founder and CEO of Failte Solar, outlined his company’s one-stop-shop distribution service for solar energy products, which is projected to have a turnover of €15-20m in 2022. He is shortlisted for the 2022 ‘Forbes Under 30’ list in Manufacturing and Industry.

The ambassadorial briefing also heard from Marcus Creaven, Managing Director of AGC Instruments in Shannon, about the company’s growing market share in Asia for its gas chromatograph and gas analyser solutions.

Helen Downes, Chamber CEO said that it will be following up on a number of initiatives discussed at the briefing. “We also plan to invite other foreign ambassadors to Shannon and, in this regard, would like to hear from local companies that have trading or other links with particular countries,” she added.