By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, April 2: The 9th Annual General Body Meeting of the Tibetan Chamber of Commerce is currently underway in the exile Tibetan headquarters of Dharamshala. The meeting will conclude on April 4.
The meeting was attended among others by Tibetan Prime Minister Dr Lobsang Sangay, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament Penpa Tsering, Finance Minister Tsering Dhondup, and President of Indo Tibetan Friendship Association Ajay Mankotia.
Addressing at the inaugural function, Tibetan PM Sangay commended the Tibetan Chamber of Commerce for complying with the 14th Tibetan cabinet’s three principles of unity, innovation and self-reliance.
“A large number of Tibetan youth in various places including Nepal are unemployed, so as an entrepreneur, it is important for you to offer jobs or advice and guide them in the business ventures,” said Sangay.
He further noted that Tibetans in exile can live with their head held high because of the hard works of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and older generation Tibetan. He said the financial condition of Tibetan refugees as compared with other refugees around the world has been good.
Speaker Penpa Tsering said, “Business is not only aimed for personal financial growth, it is also important to take social responsibility.”
“In a community, there are varying degrees of successes in businesses. Some do very well, others don’t do so well. So there must be a general sense of willingness among the rich to help the poor and contribute towards overall development of the society,” said Tsering.
Kalsang Phuntsok, President of TCC said that success in business should not let anyone forget the Tibetan plight. “We do not forget the fact that they are refugee and the reasons for our political situation. We have expressed our feelings and sense of political responsibility in various ways in the past and will continue to do so.”
An activity magazine consisting of TCC activity reports, member datas, aims and objectives was released. Souvenirs and certificates were also presented to the present and former members.
The Tibetan Chamber of Commerce was established in 2005 to undertake activities and steps to enhance and benefit the business interests of the members and the Tibetan businesses and Tibetan community in general. The Chamber said it also aims to support new and aspiring Tibetan entrepreneurs.
