On June 26th, AMCHAM’s Eastern Region organized a farewell breakfast and interactive session followed by a fireside chat with the U.S. Consul General Craig Hall and Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM, Mr. Debdas Sen on ‘U.S. – India Relations.’ Mr. Debdas Sen opened the session by speaking about the Consul General’s tenure in Kolkata and the region and asked him about his first impressions of Kolkata, his involvement with the city and its culture, and the CSR activity of the U.S. Consulate. Consul General Hall mentioned that the city and its people was one of the culturally richest and most diverse place he had been assigned to, that the warmth and affection he and his family received was unparalleled to any place he had served in.

He mentioned his interaction with the West Bengal Government was very good and always found them very helpful to work with. Apart from working with American business community he praised the work AMCHAM members were doing, not only in the region, but also pan India. He highlighted the work that the Consulate did touching upon the human rights and human trafficking that so many NGO’s were working on within the city. He spoke about the awareness programs with the LGBT community, amongst other programs, and cultural events that the U.S. Consulate was involved with. During the Q&A session he touched upon the much debated U.S. administration’s trade policy, regional conflicts and a host of varied questions.

Ms. Amada Kidwai, Regional Director – Eastern Region, AMCHAM, welcomed members and invited Mr. Gulshan Sachdev, NEB Member, AMCHAM, to give the welcome remarks. Mr. Surajit Banerjee, Mr. K.P. Sengupta and Mr. Dinesh Agarwal former Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM, shared their experience of interaction with Consul General Hall. Mr. Ranjan Nandi, Executive Member – Eastern Region, gave the concluding remarks and thanked the Consul General for his support by participating in all AMCHAM’s initiatives and events in Kolkata.