EAM Jaishankar arrives in Bhubaneswar to attend Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

Bhubaneswar: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday reached Bhubaneswar on a five-day Odisha visit to attend the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas scheduled to be held here between January 8 and 10.

EAM Jaishankar was welcomed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CM Pravati Parida, former Union minister and Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi at the Bhubaneswar airport on Monday evening.

As per the schedule, Jaishankar later headed to Eco Retreat at Konark for a night halt. He is scheduled to visit the world-famous Konark Sun Temple on Tuesday morning.

Jaishankar is also likely to visit the 12th century Jagannath temple at Puri, Heritage crafts village of Raghurajpur in Puri, Dhauli Shanti Stupa (Peace Pagoda), Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. He will attend the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at Janata Maidan starting on January 8.

“I am confident that the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be celebrated in a grand way. Chief Minister Mohan Majhi has told me that all the preparations for the 3-day event have been completed. I hope that the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be a grand success in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Jaishankar told media persons on Monday.

With PBD shifting its venue to the Eastern part of the country for the first time, this affirms and reinforces the Centre’s commitment to taking forward its ‘Purvodaya’ project, conceived for the all-round development of the Eastern region comprising states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

Notably, Odisha’s rich reserve of minerals and natural resources will go a long way in taking forward this mission. The state leads all its counterparts in fields like mining, iron and steel manufacturing, marine economy, sports, skilling and even knowledge economy. Several Indian IT companies have established bases in the state. The PBD event would be an opportunity to showcase what the state has to offer to the world.

Like every year, the PBD celebrations in Bhubaneshwar, from January 8-10 will showcase the vibrancy of the Indian diaspora and their achievements abroad. Also, exhibitions on Ramayana, Technology and Diaspora are being organised to spotlight the contributions of the Indian diaspora and how they acted as a vehicle for the promotion of Indian culture, values and ethos abroad.

The Ramayana exhibition would showcase how the epic travelled to countries in South-East Asia where they still remain a vast attraction for the locals as well as foreign tourists.

–IANS