BHUBANESWAR: The central government will work closely with the state government to promote the 3Ts of trade, technology and tourism in Odisha which has tremendous potential to be an excellent investment destination, said the secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs Arun Kumar Chatterjee.
Responding to queries after a briefing on the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas which concluded on Friday, Chatterjee said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already announced that ministries concerned have been tasked to work out modalities on improving trade and tourism in Odisha by using technology.
“It is not confined to just these three areas. There are many areas where the central government will lend its support to the state but those areas have to be defined first. We in the MEA will work as a facilitator like many other ministries in improving trade and commerce, and promoting overseas investment in Odisha,” he said.
While outlining the engagements with the Indian diaspora during the three-day convention, Chatterjee said that the feedback from the Pravasi Bharatiyas was very good. Asked about the low presence of diaspora youths on the first day of the convention which was dedicated to them, the MEA secretary said, “We have to find out how many youths participated.”
On the total delegates who attended the convention, Chatterjee said nearly 7,500 had registered for the event. “We are still looking into the statistics as it will take time to get details about the actual participant numbers,” he said.
On the safety and security of overseas migrant workers, he said the government of India is always there to protect them. However, as many have gone abroad without registering themselves with government agencies, sometimes it proves difficult to extend consular support to such persons.
He said the MEA has recently launched eMigrate portal to safeguard the interests of Indian workers emigrating to countries with a history of labour issues or exploitation risks.
Chief secretary Manoj Ahuja and other senior officers of MEA were also present.