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Over 1,200 delegates to attend diaspora meet >From Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) The prime minister of Mauritius, a former prime minister of Fiji and a Malysian cabinet minister are among the 1,200 people of Indian origin (PIOs) and non-resident Indians (NRIs) who will attend the first-ever meeting of the Indian diaspora here January 9-11. The external affairs ministry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) -- organisers of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, or Diaspora Day -- said Monday that they expected the number of participants to go up substantially before the meeting, described as the "largest gathering of the global Indian family". The meeting coincides with the anniversary of the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India on January 9, 1915, after almost two decades in South Africa and is aimed at recognising the contribution of the Indian diaspora in the political, social, academic and cultural fields. Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth will deliver a special address at the opening ceremony. Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Pal Chaudhury, Malyasian Works Minister S. Samy Vellu and a number of prominent NRIs and PIOs will attend the meeting. They include Nobel laureates Amartya Sen and V.S. Naipaul, Lord Bhikhu Parekh of Britain and Deepak Jain, dean of the Kellogg School of Management. >From India, the participants in the meeting, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will include politicians, businesspersons, bureaucrats and leaders in various fields. "The inspiration behind Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is to foster the bond between Indians worldwide, provide all people of Indian origin with the opportunity to renew ties with their ancestral land and build up new alliances and explore new avenues of cooperation," FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra said. "It will further encourage and increase the share of foreign direct investment of our diaspora, resulting in a beneficial and interactive impact on the Indian economy as has happened in the case of China," he added. The three-day meet will include discussions on topics of interests to the diaspora and a cultural fiesta representing India's vibrant heritage of music culture and cinematic extravaganza. The inaugural session will be marked by an invocation by two greats of Indian music, sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and shehnai exponent Bismillah Khan. The focus of the plenary session on the opening day will be: "India and the diaspora - forging a constructive relationship" and "Science and Technology." On January 10, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani will interact with the delegates. The plenary session on that day will cover "Culture, language, literature, films and the diasporic identity," "Voluntary sector and development: Diaspora and the emerging challenge in India's social development - Role of Pravasi Bharatiyas," and "Science and technology- networking for excellence". On the final day, the meeting will discuss "Indian states, leveraging the diaspora" and opportunities in defence and homeland security research and development. --Indo-Asian News Service WANT TO check out which mailing lists you could subscribe to? Send a blank email message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ========================================================================
