Foreign Guests To Stay With Local Residents During Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Meet In Indore

Nearly 200 foreign guests out of around 3,000 who are expected to take part in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in Indore  will enjoy the hospitality of local residents and get familiar with their culture and traditions, an official said on Tuesday, as India's cleanest city gets ready to host the mega gathering of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from January 8 to 10.
        
The 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) meet will see participation from Presidents of Suriname and Guyana besides a host of foreign dignitaries and top Indian leaders.
        
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday presided over a meeting of top officials in Bhopal to take stock of preparations for the high-profile event which will also be attended by President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
       
An official of the Indore Development Authority (IDA) said nearly 200 foreign guests out of around 3,000 expected to take part in the three-day programme would enjoy the hospitality of local residents.
        
“Nearly 100 local residents have given permission to host foreign guests at their residences and that means about 200 can stay with them,” the official said.
        
Foreign guests coming from the USA, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Myanmar, Mauritius, Fiji and other countries can stay with these local hosts, he said.
        
Indore collector Dr Ilayaraja T said, “We are expecting around 3,000 foreign guests and have made arrangements for their stay in hotels as well as with local residents so that they can enjoy their hospitality and get abreast with local culture and traditions."
        
He informed that during the three-day convention, guidelines and protocols issued by the Centre and the state government related to COVID-19 will be followed strictly.
        
Suriname President Chandrika Prasad Santokhi and his Guyana counterpart  Dr Mohammad Irfaan Ali will attend the inaugural function on January 9, official sources told PTI in Bhopal.
        
Santokhi will be the special guest of honour, while Dr Irfaan will be the chief guest of the biennial programme, said the sources.
        
President Murmu will deliver the valedictory address on January 10, they said.
        
Several Union ministers and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Chouhan will be among those who will attend the event, said the sources.
        
The main programme will be preceded by Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas which will be held on January 8 and attended by Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport Anurag Thakur, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other dignitaries.
        
Australia’s Member of Parliament Zaneta Mascarenhas will deliver a special address, while Jaishankar will give the inaugural speech at the January 8 event, the sources said.
        
The PBD convention will begin on January 9 to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa on that date in 1915.
        
The convention is the flagship event of the Ministry of External Affairs and provides an important platform to engage and connect with overseas Indians. It started in 2003 and was held every year till 2015 before turning into a biennial programme.
        
From January 11 to 12, the seventh edition of the “Invest Madhya Pradesh—Global Investors Summit”, aimed at attracting investments in the state, will also be held in Indore, MP's commercial capital.