ICAQ hosts breakfast meeting with H.E. Manpreet Singh Vohra

On March 19th, High Commissioner of India, His Excellency Mr Manpreet Singh Vohra, and Hon. Consulate General of India, in Brisbane Mrs Archana Singh met with executive committee members of Indian Council of Australia, Queensland Inc. (ICAQ) for a breakfast meeting at the Corner Store Café in Toowong. This was his second visit to Brisbane and ICAQ was fortunate for the opportunity to interact with him on matters that have a significant impact on the Indian diaspora in Queensland.

His Excellency Mr Manpreet Vohra was very keen to know about the Indian Council of Australia (ICAQ), its activities, vision, strategic plan and engagement in the community sector. Some of the issues that were discussed with his Excellency were:

• Full counsellor service in Brisbane and streamlining and making services easy

His Excellency made it clear that Full Counsellor Service in Brisbane is currently not possible as Hon. Mrs Archana Singh is not a member of the Indian Foreign Services, hence all issues will have to be dealt with by the Canberra office under His excellency Mr ManpreetVohra. There have been issues with VFS, and he is aware of those, however, there cannot be a quick fix. COVID also caused many other issues and resolving them meant increased costs to the customers. The high volume of the Indian population entering Australia and wanting to go to India has impacted the services of VFS. But if it is an emergency, those cases are dealt with immediately.

• Direct flights from Brisbane to India

As the High Commissioner of India in Australia, he has recommended for more destination flights to India to be started in Australia, including a direct flight from Brisbane to Mumbai being the top priority. Air India is no more the national carrier, hence it is a commercial decision now.

• Domestic violence issues

Domestic violence issues cannot be handled or interfered with by the Indian High Commission, they have to be dealt with by the local commissions. However, the Indian population in Australia is steadily growing almost reaching 750000. He urged that “with this large population, we can definitely influence policies and create a strong and positive impact. Organisations such as yours can make that difference and must approach the appropriate local services for help and intervention.”

Executive committee members of ICAQ present at the meeting shared their thoughts on various matters,s such as international student arrival, Australia-India institute engagement with the community sector, the impact of recent floods on communities, visa/passport processing for people affected by floods, and the progress on India club, etc. The committee members were impressed by the insights and suggestions of H.E. Mr. Manpreet Vohra.

ICAQ President Mr. Parminder Singh said, “We are grateful that the High Commissioner is playing an important role in increasing the social, economic, defence, education, trade, cultural, and sports ties between Australia and India. At the same time, he puts the welfare of the Indian Diaspora on priority.”

ICAQ PRO Mrs Amrita Deshpande said, “It is important to have direct connection with the high commission office for organisations such as ICAQ so that we can better serve the Indian community in resolving various emergency issues. The connection is also important in understanding and taking proper steps in resolving those emergency issues. Many pressing questions were clarified and resolved for us by both H.E. Mr Manpreet Vohra and Hon. Consul Mrs Archana Singh through this open dialogue with the ICAQ committee.”

The meeting was very empowering and these meaningful conversations and sharing of ideas and thoughts encouraged the committee to progress with the agenda for making a difference in the lives of people and communities. The meeting certainly echoed a spirit of collaborative partnership, commitment to community service and an environment of positivity.

This unique outcome is something that will uplift the spirit of ICAQ. To this effect, ICAQ Secretary Mr. Ganesh Deshpande said, “ICAQ has a space for everyone, and the Executive Committee comprises of members from various regions of India. ICAQ is not a traditional NFP community organisation but with a differentiator having a clear vision and objective towards social wellbeing. Collectively, ICAQ members have a rich experience and knowledge to serve the Indian diaspora in a better manner.”

Please send inquiries to join ICAQ or comments to pro@icaq.com.au

By Amrita Deshpande, PRO, ICAQ