BENGALURU: The 14th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) — the largest till date in terms of participation — had a lot of takeaways, despite some nagging concerns. Apart from discussions regarding the plight of migrant labourers of Indian origin in Gulf countries and Malaysia, there were also talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and representatives from France, Malaysia and Suriname.
Agreements
PBD witnessed participation of several leaders such as Antonio Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal, Jean Marc Ayrault, French Foreign Minister, Michael Ashwin Adhin, Vice President of Suriname and others. Modi, who had participated in the international diaspora event on Sunday, held talks with these representatives on various issues to bolster trade deals and other agreements.
MEA officials said one of the deals discussed was regarding the controversial Rafale fighter jets. Discussions were held with representatives from other countries. Several business meetings were scheduled to promote investment opportunities. Though there were some complaints regarding the facilities to hold meetings, several agreements were signed. Many agreements were related to investment in local business and tourism sector.
Positive Feedback
According to V K Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs and Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, the event was ‘extremely substantive and outcome oriented’. Singh said MEA has been able to work towards finding solutions to problems faced by labourers of Indian origin in Gulf countries and Malaysia. “We have arranged discussions among people of Indian origin (PoI) from the said countries with ambassadors to these respective nations,” he added.
Despite the programmes initiated by the Centre, information disbursal among all PoIs is a problem. “Next year, we will provide greater emphasis on outreach programme of MEA,” he said.