Indian government organises 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, Dr Irfaan Ali represents Guyana

New Delhi, India: The government of India organised the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas from January 8 to January 10, 2023, in the Indore city of Madhya Pradesh. The event was hosted in collaboration with the government of Madhya Pradesh and under the leadership of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The theme of the convention was “Diaspora”.

Various leaders and government ministries of India delivered their respective addresses during the event. The speeches were presented by Minister of Indian External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and other top government officials.

Along with this, Prime Minister Modi also addressed the audience at the convention and threw light on the significance of the Parvasi Bhartiya (Diaspora) living in other countries of the world. Modi stated that Parvasi Bhartiya are the Brand Ambassadors of the country as they represent the cultural values, traditions and customs of the nation.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister of India stated that this initiative provides an important platform to interact with Indians living abroad. He added that the celebration of the Pravasi Divas is as unique as the celebration of India’s 75th Independence Day. Besides this, Modi stated about the country’s first exhibition held under the theme of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. He concluded this message and stated the contribution of people to the growth and success of India is highly appreciable.

Furthermore, the Minister of External Affairs of India, S Jaishankar, also addressed the public and thanked the members and representatives of the USA and Canada for their mutual cooperation.

The presented delegation praised Prime Minister Modi for this contribution and stated that under his leadership, the country had seen immense development in almost every sector, including technological advancement, relations building and economic growth etc. It also mentioned that it had never happened before.

This year’s convention was special for the people of the Caribbean Region, especially for the Guyanese, as the President of the Republic of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali, represented the nation at the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas.

During his visit to Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali worked together, in collaboration with the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, on developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a clear definition for economic cooperation.

The President made the statement during the inaugural session of the Global Investors Summit 2023 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He also spoke about the vast investment opportunities that are accessible not only in Guyana but the entire Caribbean region while reaffirming that Guyana aims to become a “cornerstone” in the market for human resources, finance, hospitality, health, education and climate services, among other areas.

President Ali also invited the Board of Control for Cricket in India to consider Guyana as their next investment destination in building the cricket product. President Ali also lead a trade delegation of cabinet ministers and representatives of the local private sector to India.