| CHAMBER AT WORK : MARCH – APRIL – MAY 2026 | ||||
| 02-03-2026 | – | 5.00 p. m. | – | Volkswagen launched the new brand, Tayron R-Line at Bharath Vehicle Works Pvt. Ltd., show room in Mangaluru. Shri P.B. Ahmed Mudassar, President, KCCI was the Chief Guest on the occasion. |
| 07-03-2026 | – | 10.00 a. m. | – | An Awareness Program on the MSME Design Scheme (offering government support up to ₹40 lakh) was organized by the Centre for System Design (CSD), NITK Surathkal, Ministry of MSME, in collaboration with KCCI, to help MSMEs leverage design for innovation and value addition. Shri P.B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI, delivered the Presidential Address. Dr. Bijuna C. Mohan, Coordinator and Implementing Agency Representative of the Ministry of MSME – NITK, Prof. K. V. Gangadharan, Coordinator – CSD, NITK, Shri Vedha Prakash, Industrial Designer, Aktis Engineering Solutions, Bengaluru, and Smt. Sruthi G. K, Assistant Director, MSME Development & Facilitation Office (DFO), Mangaluru, addressed the gathering. The program concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Rahul Sivarajan, Coordinator – Awareness Program on Design, NITK, with active participation from MSME members. |
| 09-03-2026 | – | 10.30 a. m. | – | A meeting on District Skill Development Plan (DSDP) for the year 2025-26 was held at Netravathi Hall, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, Mangaluru. Shri Harisha C P., Nodal Officer, DSDP presented the outline of the project. Shri Gokuldas Nayak, Joint Director, District Industries Centre (DIC), Mangaluru and other dignitaries were present on stage. Representatives of various associations attended the meeting. KCCI was represented by Shri Mytreya A, Chief Operating Officer. |
| 3:30 p. m. | – | The Office of the Commissioner of Central Excise & Central Tax (GST), Mangaluru organized a SAMVAD programme with stakeholders of the hospitality industry (Hotels, Restaurants and Resorts) to discuss the impact of recent GST rate changes, GST 2.0 reforms and the effect of recent judicial pronouncements on the industry at their Conference Hall, Trade Centre, Mangaluru. The meeting was chaired by Shri S. Keshava Narayana Reddy, Commissioner, Central Excise and Central Tax, Mangaluru. CA Kesava N. Ballakuraya, Chairman – Indirect Tax Committee – KCCI and Shri M. Ganesh Bhat, Member, Indirect Tax Committee – KCCI, represented KCCI. | ||
| 4.00 p. m. | – | A consultative meeting was convened at the Board room of New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), Administrative Building, Mangaluru to discuss the escalating geopolitical tensions and the resulting impact on shipping routes (Strait of Hormuz), increased freight surcharges and supply chain delays. The meeting was chaired by Smt. S. Shanthi, Dy. Chairperson, NMPA. KCCI was represented by Shri Jeethan Allen Sequeira, Hon. Secretary. | ||
| 11-03-2026 | – | 3.30 p. m. | – | The First Meeting of the Railway Sub-Committee of KCCI for the year 2025-26 was convened at the Conference Room of KCCI. The meeting was chaired by Shri Rammohan Pai Maroor, Chairman, Railways sub-committee of KCCI. The meeting was attended by Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI, Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President – KCCI, Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor, Hon. Secretary- KCCI and Shri M. Ahmed Bawa, member of the committee and the nominated member from KCCI representing Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC). |
| 14-03-2026 | – | 7.00 p. m. | – | Young Indiana (Yi) organized a YIBE session with Shri Jai Krishnan, CEO, India – Samsonite as the speaker at Pilikula Golf Course, Mangaluru. Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President-KCCI attended the event. |
| 18-03-2026 | – | 10.00 a. m. | – | Mysuru Division-level Stakeholders Consultation Workshop on Karnataka MSME Policy was held at Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Institute for Management Development, Mysuru. The inaugural address was addressed by Dr. Sateesha B.C., IAS, Director (MSME), Department of Industries and Commerce, Govt. of Karnataka. KCCI was represented by Shri Mytreya A, Chief Operating Officer. |
| 23-03-2026 | – | 3.00 p. m. | – | The 𝟮𝟱th 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 (𝗣𝗧𝗙𝗖) 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 was held at the Conference Hall New Customs House, Mangaluru. The meeting was chaired by Ms. P. Vinitha Sekhar, IRS, Commissioner of Customs, Mangaluru. KCCI was represented by Shri Mytreya A, Chief Operating Officer. |
| 5.00 p. m. | – | The Second Meeting of the KCCI Conclave – 2026 Sub-Committee of KCCI for the year 2025-26 was convened at Hotel Ocean Pearl, Mangaluru. The meeting was chaired by Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President and Chairman of the committee. The meeting was attended by Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President, Directors, CA Nandagopal Shenoy, Shri Vincent Cutinha, Shri B. A. Nazeer, Ms. M. Athmika Amin, Shri Sujir Prasad Nayak and Past Presidents, CA Ananthesh V. Prabhu and Shri M. Ganesh Kamath. | ||
| 26-03-2026 | – | 3.00 p. m. | – | Dakshina Kannada District’s Single Window meeting was held at the Conference Hall of the Office of Deputy Commissioner, Mangaluru. The meeting was chaired by Shri Darshan H. V., IAS., Deputy Commissioner, Dakshina Kannada District. Shri Gokuldas Nayak, Joint Director, District Industries Centre, Mangaluru was also present in the meeting. KCCI was represented by Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI. |
| 4.00 p. m. | – | Dakshina Kannada District’s Kaigarika Spandana meeting was held at the Conference Hall of the Office of Deputy Commissioner, Mangaluru. The meeting was chaired by Shri Darshan H. V., IAS., Deputy Commissioner, Dakshina Kannada District. Shri Gokuldas Nayak, Joint Director, District Industries Centre, Mangaluru was also present in the meeting. KCCI was represented by Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI. | ||
| 27-03-2026 | – | 10.30 a. m. | – | The Regional Division of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Mangaluru organized a virtual meeting with seafood exporters of Karnataka and Goa. The meeting focused on key industry issues and policy updates. Shri Nissar Fakeer Mohammed, KCCI Director attended the meeting. |
| 6.00 p. m. | – | Executive Committee Meeting of CEOL was held at CEOL. The meeting was chaired by Shri Raju K., KAS, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) – Dakshina Kannada district. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President, KCCI attended the meeting. | ||
| 29-03-2026 | – | 5.30 p. m. | – | Puttur Chamber of Commerce and Industries organized the grand celebration of Puttur Shopping Habba & Family Get Together at Puttur Co-operative Town Bank Hall, Puttur. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Shri Balaram Acharya, Prop. GL Acharya Jewellers and Shri Gilbert D’Souza, Prop. Souza Aluminium were the guests on the occasion. Shri Ravi Krishna D. Kallaje, President – Puttur Chamber of Commerce and Industries and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. |
| 08-04-2026 | – | 7.15 p. m. | – | The First Meeting of the Board of Directors of KCCI for the financial year 2026-27 and the Seventh Meeting of the Committee was convened at Hotel Ocean Pearl, Mangaluru. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President, KCCI chaired the meeting in the presence of other Office Bearers and Directors. |
| 11-04-2026 | – | 10.00 a. m. | – | Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized a daylong session on Managing Family Conflict – Navigating Differences and Disagreements by Dr. N. Krishnan, Family Business Advisor at Hotel Vivanta, Mangaluru. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President- KCCI, Shri Nissar Fakeer Mohammed, Director – KCCI attended the event. |
| 17-04-2026 | – | 11.00 a. m. | – | The 87th meeting of the Board of Directors of Mangalore SEZ Limited was held at the Conference Room, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), New Delhi. Shri P. B Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI attended the same. Shri Vivek Chandrakant Tongaonkar, Chairman – MSEZL and Director Finance – ONGC, Shri BHV Prasad, Nominee Director – MSEZL and Executive Director Projects – MRPL, Shri Ashok Kumar, Executive Director, Marketing – ONGC and Nominee Director – MSEZL, Shri ISN Prasad, Independent Director – MSEZL, Shri Yogish Nayak, Nominee Director and CFO – ONGC, Smt Nalini Padmanabhan, Independent Director, MSEZL and Audit Committee Chairperson – MSEZL, Shri Suryanarayana, CEO – MSEZL and CS Phani Bhushan, MSEZL were present. Few Board members attended virtually. |
| 22-04-2026 | – | 10.30 a. m. | – | Karnataka Maritime Board conducted a Stakeholder Consultation Meeting at Hotel Ocean Pearl, Mangaluru as part of conceptualizing and implementing various Public-Private partnership (PPP) projects in Mangaluru region. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President-KCCI, Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President-KCCI, Shri Jeethan Allen Sequeira, Hon. Secretary-KCCI and Shri Nissar Fakeer Mohammed, Director – KCCI attended the event. |
| 25-04-2026 | – | 10.30 a. m. | – | KCCI President, Shri P.B. Ahmed Mudassar attended the FKCCI Global Agri-Tech Summit 2026 at Palace Grounds, Bengaluru. |
| 28-04-2026 | – | 12.30 p. m. | – | 27th Permanent Trade Facilitation Committee (PTFC) meeting, and Sectoral meeting on the topic, ‘On-going challenges / issues faced in FAG 1 & 1A’ was held in hybrid mode. The meeting was chaired by Smt. Vinitha Sekhar, IRS, Commissioner of Customs, Mangaluru. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President-KCCI attended the meeting virtually. |
| 29-04-2026 | – | 7.15 p. m. | – | KCCI organized a Large Scale Industry Leaders’ Forum at the Mangalore Club. The event brought together representatives from large-scale industries across the region for an interactive session focused on addressing key industrial concerns and opportunities. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Capt. Brijesh Chowta, Member of Parliament, Dakshina Kannada District. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI delivered the welcome address. CA Abdur Rahman Musba, Chairman of the Large Industries Committee and Hon. Treasurer of KCCI, briefed delegates on the Chamber’s initiatives and strategic development priorities for the district. Shri Jeethan Allen Sequeira, Hon. Secretary and Chairman of the EXIM Cell, spoke about the transformation of NH-75, once a major bottleneck connecting Mangaluru to Bengaluru via Shiradi Ghat. Recognising the challenges of executing infrastructure projects in the difficult Shiradi Ghat terrain, several key contributors were felicitated by KCCI in the presence of Hon’ble MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta, Shri Nandakumar Pillai, Director Refineries, MPRL and Capt. Manoj Joshi, Dy. Conservator, NMPA, for their exemplary service: · Shri Praveen Kumar, former Project Director, Hassan Division. · Shri Syed Amanullah, Project Director, Hassan Division. · Shri Abdulla Javed Azmi, General Manager (Tech) & Project Director, Mangaluru Division. A special felicitation was accorded to Shri Nownith Kumar, Consultant, JSW Mangalore Container Terminal Pvt. Ltd., for his outstanding on-ground coordination and commitment. The efforts of his colleagues, Shri Dilip Shetty of JSW Infrastructure Limited and Shri Ramanathan L., Senior VP & Unit Head, JSW Coal & Container Terminal, were also recognised by KCCI. The proceedings were gracefully conducted by Past President Smt. Vathika Pai. Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President, KCCI was present on stage. Directors of KCCI were also present on the occasion. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor, Hon. Secretary, KCCI. |
03-05-2026 | – | 4.30 p. m. | – | Kanara Industries Association (KIA) had their Valedictorian of Kanara Engineering Industrial Tech-Expo 2026 (KEITE) at Karavali Exhibition Ground. The valedictory was presented by Shri Narwade Vinayak Karbheri, Chief Executive Officer, Dakshina Kannada Jilla Panchayat. The Chief Guests on the occasion were Shri Pradeep D’Souza, District Skill Development Officer, Deputy Director of District Youth Empowerment & Sports Department and CA SS Nayak, Prop. SS Nayak & Associates, Chartered Accountants. The Guests of Honour during this event were Shri P.B. Ahmed Mudassar, President-KCCI, Shri Abhinav Bansal, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mangaluru, Shri B.A. Nazeer, President – Canara Plastic Manufacturers and Traders Association and Director – KCCI and Smt. Kusuma H Devediga, President – District Small Industries Association. The event was presided by Shri Gokuldas Nayak, Joint Director, District Small Industries Association (DSIA), Mangaluru. Shri N. Arun Padiyar, Chairman – KEITE 2026 and other office bearers of KIA were present. |
04-05-2026 | – | 12 noon | – | Meeting was held at KCCI to give suggestions on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as per the request received from their office. The meeting was attended by the Office Bearers of the KCCI, Shri P.B. Ahmed Mudassar, President, Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President, CA Abdur Rahman Musba, Hon. Treasurer and other members CS Narasimha Pai, CS Ulhas Bhat, CS B. Swathi Baliga, CS Joel A. D’Souza and CA B. Chandrakanth Rao. |
04.30 p. m. | – | A meeting was held at Wrk Wrk Traingle, Mangaluru to explore the way forward for data centres opportunities in our coastal region. The meeting was attended by Shri P.B Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI, Shri Anand G Pai, Immediate Past President – KCCI, Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President, KCCI, CA Abdul Rahman Musba, Hon. Treasurer and Shri Rohit Bhat, Founder, wrkwrk. | ||
05-05-2026 | – | 11.00 a. m. | – | A preparatory meeting on Dakshina Kannada District’s District Skill Development Plan was called by Shri Darshan H.V., IAS, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Dakshina Kannada District at the Court Hall of DC office. KCCI was represented by its President, Shri P.B. Ahmed Mudassar. |
4.30 p. m. | – | A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between KCCI and Mahaveera College, Moodabidri at the Conference Room of KCCI. The MoU was formally exchanged between Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President- KCCI and Shri Abhayachandra Jain, Chairman, Governing Council, Mahaveera College, Moodabidri. Present on the occasion from KCCI were Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar – Vice President, Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor – Hon. Secretary, Shri Vincent Cutinha – Director, Shri Anand G. Pai – Immediate Past President and Shri Mytreya A – Chief Operating Officer. Representing Mahaveera College were Dr. Radha Krishna, Principal and Prof. Harish, HoD, Dept. of Commerce. | ||
06-05-2026 | – | 9.15 a. m. | – | St. Joseph Engineering College (SJEC), Mangaluru’s Department of Business Administration inaugurated Zephyr – 2026, National Level UG –PG Management Fest at their Kalam Auditorium. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Shri Vincent Cutinha, Director- KCCI. The Guests of Honour on the occasion were Dr. Rio D’Souza, Principal, SJEC and Rev. Fr. Kenneth R Crasta, Assistant Director, SJEC. Rev. Fr. Wilfred Prakash D’Souza, Director, SJEC presided over the function. Dr. Prakash Pinto, Professor & Dean, MBA and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. |
07-05-2026 | – | 10.00 a. m. | – | The First Meeting of the Editorial Board of the Journal of KCCI for the year 2025-26 was convened at the Conference Room of KCCI. The meeting was chaired by Ar. Ashrika Amin, Editor – Journal of KCCI. The meeting was attended by Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI, Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President – KCCI, Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor, Hon. Secretary – KCCI, CA Salome Lobo Pereira, Associate Editor – Journal of KCCI and other members of the committee, Shri Aditya Padmanabha Pai, Shri Nissar Fakeer Mohammed, Ms. M. Athmika Amin and Shri Sorabh Nahata. |
11.00 a. m. | – | The First Meeting of the Start Ups’ Sub-Committee of KCCI for the year 2025-26 was convened at the Conference Room of KCCI. The meeting was chaired by Shri Vishwas Shishir, Chairman of the Startups sub-committee. The meeting was attended by Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President-KCCI, Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President, Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor, Hon. Secretary and other members of the committee, CA Prasanna Shenoy, Shri Aravind and Shri Karthik Attavar. | ||
11-05-2026 | – | 03.00 p. m. | – | The Board of Governing meeting followed by the AGM of NITK-STEP was held at the Boardroom of NITK-STEP, Surathkal, Mangaluru. The meeting was chaired by Shri M. M. Murugappan, Chairman, NITK- STEP. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI attended the meeting. |
13-05-2026 | – | 4.30 p. m. | – | The Second Meeting of the Board of Directors of KCCI for the financial year 2026-27 and the Eighth Meeting of the Committee was convened at the Conference Room of KCCI. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI chaired the meeting in the presence of other Office Bearers, Directors and Special invitees. |
15-05-2026 | – | 10.00 a. m. | – | The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Mangaluru branch (SIRC) organized the inaugural ceremony of ‘Adhigama – Reinforcement of Knowledge’ at Palemar Convention Centre, Mangaluru. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Prof. (Dr.) M. Shantharam Shetty, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Pro-Chancellor of Nitte University and Chairman of Tejasvini Hospital & SSIOT, Mangaluru. The Guest of Honour on this occasion was CA Abhay Chajjed, CCM, Chairman Professional Development Committee, ICAI. CA, Danieal Marsh Pereira, Chairman, ICAI – Mangaluru and other dignitaries were present. Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President – KCCI, Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor, Hon. Secretary – KCCI and Shri Aditya Padmanabha Pai, Director – KCCI attended this event. |
16-05-2026 | – | 9.30 a.m. | – | KCCI in association with SI-8 The Venture Studio, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) and Indian Bank organized an Awareness Seminar on Export Facilitation, Role & Services of EPCH in Leveraging Overseas Marketing Platform on Saturday, 16th May 2026 at KCCI Meeting Hall, Mangaluru. Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President – KCCI, welcomed the dignitaries and participants. Shri Vishwas Shishir, Chairman, Startups Sub-Committee – KCCI addressed the members. Shri K. L. Ramesh, Chairman, Handicrafts & Carpet Sector Skill Council, emphasized the importance of quality standards and effective marketing in export business. The technical sessions were addressed by Smt. P. L. Sreedevi, Southern Regional Head, EPCH on the topic, ‘Export Facilitation, Role and Services of EPCH in Leveraging Overseas Marketing Platform’, Shri Vikash Kumar Prasad, Branch Head – ECGC Mangaluru, addressed the members on, RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) and Shri Suraj Prasanna Das, Zonal Manager, Indian Bank, Mysuru, explained about ‘Power your Business with Indian Bank’. The event witnessed participation from Entrepreneurs, Prospective Entrepreneurs, Exporters, staff and students of various educational institutions. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor, Hon. Secretary – KCCI. |
20-05-2026 | – | 3.00 p. m. | – | KCCI organized an Awareness Seminar on ‘PRARAMBH 2026 – New Income Tax Act 2025’ at KCCI Meeting Hall, Mangaluru. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI welcomed the resource persons and members. CA Prasanna Shenoy, Chairman, Income Tax Sub-committee – KCCI addressed the gathering. Shri Divakar Pai Kochikar, Vice-President – KCCI introduced the speakers to the audience. Shri C. B. Suresh Kumar, IRS, Addl. Commissioner of Income Tax, Mangaluru addressed the members on an insight to the changes-for business and industry and Shri Vaishak P.R., IRS, Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Mangaluru spoke on changes in new IT Act for Non Profit organizations. CA Abdur Rahman Musba, Hon. Treasurer-KCCI and Shri Ramith Chennithala, Deputy Commissioner – Income Tax, Mangaluru were among others present on stage. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor, Hon. Secretary-KCCI. The event witnessed participation from Business Owners, Chartered Accountants and staff from educational institutions. |
22-05-2026 | – | 3.00 p. m. | – | A meeting was held to deliberate on the future course of action for establishing a High Court Bench in Mangaluru. The meeting was chaired by Shri Ivan D’Souza, MLC, Mangaluru, and was attended by Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President – KCCI, Shri H.V. Raghavendra, President – Bar Association, Mangaluru, along with representatives from various organizations. The participants discussed strategies and collective efforts required to strengthen the demand for setting up a High Court Bench in Mangaluru and to take the matter forward with the concerned authorities. |
6.00 p. m. | – | The Indian Institute of Architects, Mangalore-Manipal Centre (IIA MMC) in association with CREDAI Mangalore, TiE Mangaluru and KCCI organized Mangaluru Urban Dialogue at Hotel Ocean Pearl, Mangaluru. Shri P. B. Ahmed Mudassar, President-KCCI was one of the speakers at the event. Other eminent speakers who addressed the gathering included Ar. Naresh Narasimhan, Managing Partner – Venkataramanan | ||
29-05-2026 | – | 3.30 p. m. | – | KCCI was invited by the Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Administration), Mangaluru Division, regarding interaction with stakeholders during the visit of the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Karnataka. A delegation comprising Shri Ashwin Pai Maroor, Hon. Secretary – KCCI, CA Keshava N. Ballakuraya, Chairman, Indirect Tax Committee – KCCI, Shri Ganesh Bhat, Member and Shri Abdul Khader Iddya, Member, Indirect Tax Committee – KCCI met the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Karnataka, Bengaluru and submitted a memorandum highlighting various practical difficulties and compliance-related issues being faced by GST taxpayers across the State. |
30-05-2026 | – | 7.00 p. m. | – | Swastika National Business School, Mangaluru organized Swastika Awards Night 2026 at Swastika Waterfront, Mangaluru. Shri Vincent Cutinha, Director – KCCI, Smt. Vathika Pai, Past President – KCCI and Shri Mytreya A, Chief Operating Officer – KCCI were among the guests who presented awards to the students who excelled in various fields. The programme was graced by Dr. Raghavendra Holla N., Chairman – Swastika National Business School and Dr. Malini N Hebbar, Principal among other dignitaries were present on the occasion. |
