THE organisers of the Commonwealth Business Forum to be held in Perth later this year are still hoping to lock in more heads of government to bolster the event’s speaker line-up.
Commonwealth Business Council director-general Mohan Kaul, visiting Perth last week for a meeting of the forum’s steering committee, said he was “quite pleased” with the program and the speakers.
“We are still looking for more speakers, especially heads of government,” Dr Kaul told WA Business News.
The current line-up includes 12 heads of government, including from Australia, Nigeria, Namibia and Tanzania.
The forum will be hoping to lure others, such as UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who will be in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Dr Kaul conceded that the forum organisers had failed to recognise the timing clash with India’s Diwali festival, which he described as India equivalent to Christmas. This has resulted in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, one of the event drawcards, declining to attend.
Dr Kaul said the line-up of business speakers was 95 per cent complete. It includes people such as BP Group chief executive Bob Dudley, Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese and SNC Lavalin president Pierre Duhaime from Canada.
Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, who is also the incoming president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, and Goldman Sachs India chief executive Sonjoy Chaterjee, will also be speaking.
Dr Kaul said most heads of government would be accompanied by a business delegation, and he was working to ensure they came to Perth with a specific agenda.
That would enable delegates to target one-on-one meetings with other delegates, and hopefully result in the signing of memorandums of understanding.
“We want to use the forum not just for discussion, we really want the forum to generate actual business,” he said.
Dr Kaul said he anticipated many delegations would be keen to learn from Australia’s experience and knowledge of the mining industry.
It is hoped that between 800 and 1,000 delegates will attend the forum.
Meanwhile, the state government has announced details of more cultural activities during CHOGM.
Culture and Arts Minister John Day said Yiwarra Kuju: Canning Stock Route exhibition will be part of CHOGM.
The project began as a partnership between Perth-based cultural organisation FORM and 10 remote Aboriginal art and culture centres in the north of the state.
