Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has left for New Delhi and will be leading a delegation to Rome and Dubai from June 20, an official release said on Saturday.
However, no ministers feature in the delegation, which includes Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra, Secretary to CM (5T) V K Pandian, Principal Secretary Food and Civil Supplies V V Yadav, Principal Secretary Industries Hemant Sharma, Resident Commissioner in New Delhi Ravi Kant. And this has lent credence to Opposition allegations that it’s the bureaucrats, and not the ministers, who call the shots in the state government.
According to the CMO office, the World Food Program (WFP) has extended an invitation to Naveen to visit its headquarters in Rome and share the transformative initiatives of Odisha in the field of food security and disaster management. He will meet the Executive Director of WFP David Beasley and the senior leadership of WFP. He will have detailed discussions on Odisha’s partnership with WFP and future projects, which will further help the state in ensuring food security in a sustainable manner.
During his stay in Rome, the CM will also meet Pope Francis, the Pope of Rome and Head of Catholic Church, in Vatican City.
Naveen will also meet the Odia diaspora from various parts of Europe. He will discuss the possible ways to engage with the diaspora in promoting the art and culture of Odisha and also enabling them to partner in the state’s transformational journey, his office said.
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On his way back, the CM will meet the investors from the Middle East and adjoining regions in Dubai. He will extend an invitation to the potential investors to come and invest in Odisha and assure them of all the support and facilitation by the state government. He will also have one-on-one meetings with some big investors from the region. A high-level industrial delegation from Odisha will also be present during the investors’ meet for possible partnerships with foreign investors.
Naveen will meet the Odia Diaspora from the Middle East in Dubai and discuss with them Odisha’s transformational journey over the last two decades and invite them to partner with the state government, the release added.
His only overseas trip as Chief Minister of Odisha was in May 2012 when he toured the United Kingdom and an alleged aborted coup was attempted by then Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra. Usha Devi was the lone political figure to have accompanied the CM on this trip.
Also Read: OB Exclusive: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik To Meet Pope Francis
