Kolkata is one of the four cities in the Asia Pacific region to bid for the 10th World Chambers Congress to be held in the region in 2017.

Yiwu in China, Manila in the Philippines and Sydney in Australia are the other three cities to bid for the prestigious international event.

The International Chamber of Commerce World Chambers Federation (ICC WCF) General Council, the deciding body for selecting the Congress host country, gathered on 17 October in Tokyo to hear presentations from four competing chamber delegations, a media release said.

"Hosting the World Chambers Congress is a great privilege for chambers of commerce that are members of ICC WCF's international network," said Vincenzo Illote, president of the Torino Chamber of Commerce, city host of next year's edition of the Congress.

"The event is a unique forum for chamber leaders and their business members to share valuable know-how, explore future development opportunities and debate global trends affecting their local business communities," he said.

The four chambers were China Chamber of International Commerce (Yiwu), the Indian Chamber of Commerce (Kolkata), Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Manila) and Sydney Business Chamber (Sydney).

"There is no losing city. All four chambers have delivered impressive live presentations that showcased each country's potential for business and how their regional culture meets innovation," said Peter Mihok, chairman of the ICC World Chambers Federation.

He said the decision was not easy as only one of the four candidates will be chosen to welcome the biggest international gathering of chamber leaders in 2017.               
Organised by the ICC WCF, the World Chambers Congress is set to return to the Asia-Pacific region following a successful 2009 edition in Kuala Lumpur.

The 9th World Chambers Congress will take place in Torino, Italy from June 10-12 under the theme 'Community, Identity, Vision'.

More than 1,600 chamber delegates from 120 countries are expected to attend the event.