Toronto: Eleven Indo-Canadians have been honoured here with 'ICCC Annual Awards 2015' for strengthening bilateral ties and their business achievements besides contributions to the economy.
Avinash Mehra, vice president of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was among 11 winners which include Nisha Agnihotri, Prashant Pathak, Neeru Gupta, Manjul Bhargava, Hargurdeep Singh, Avish Sood, Rajiv Manucha, Asim Ghosh, Jag Parmar and Venkatesh Mannar.
They were congratulated for strengthening the ties between the two countries by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Governor General David Johnston, Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne and India's High Commissioner to Canada Vishnu Prakash.
Frank Scarpitti, Mayor of Markham received the President's award 2015 for his outstanding contributions in promoting bilateral trade and investment between India and Canada.
Each award, carrying a trophy and citation, was presented by Toronto Mayor John Tory and President of the Indo-Canada Chambers of Commerce (ICCC) DP Jain at the annual gala and award night on Saturday.
"The two countries enjoy historic bilateral relations and there is a room to expand trade, cooperation on energy, agriculture and education through strategic partnership. The Canada-India friendship is also one of unrealised potential. It has the ingredients to be one of the greatest partnerships for both our countries," Jain said.
Tory lauded the role of the Indo-Canadians in fostering the bilateral relationship and said, "Toronto is the best place to live and work in the world."
"Indo-Canadian community has done more than making its mark in Canada. They have cemented the foundation of the Indo- Canadian friendship and are a key driver of the relationship in numerous endeavours between our two countries," Tory said.
ICCC was founded in 1977. It is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to promote bilateral, social, cultural and economic ties between the two countries.
