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Apartment for sale in Campal/Miramar area, Panaji, Goa. Spacious 3 bedroom flat (3BHK)available for sale in upscale area near Miramar beach Contact: goaengineer...@aol.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Foreign trips aimed to boost ties with emigrants: Eduardo Wednesday, 19 August 2009 00:45 PANAJI: Stating that during the last four years, he had undertaken only four foreign trips, two to Gulf countries, one to Mozambique and Kenya, and another one to Canada, the Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Mr Eduardo Faleiro on Tuesday clarified that the visits were organised as they were very much necessary. Replying to the allegations from a section of press as regards funding of the Office of the Commissioner for NRI Affairs and his foreign trips, Mr Faleiro said that as per the recommendation of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, the state government had made a budgetary allocation of Rs 3 crore for his office. "I discussed this with the then Chief Secretary, and told him that I would require only minimum staff but with the highest level of efficiency," Mr Faleiro said, pointing out that the budgetary allocation was reduced to Rs one crore, and even this reduced allocation was never utilised fully in any single year. "As for my foreign tours," Mr Faleiro said, "In the Gulf, we have presently the highest number of our expatriates and my visit to Mozambique and Kenya was the first ever by a Goan official to those countries after Liberation." We have in East Africa a large number of people of Goan origin and it was necessary to remind them that whatever their present nationality, they should not forget their roots and to reassure them that we will help them to every extent possible, if and when necessary, he added. "I visited Canada to participate in the annual Global Goans Convention, which we seek to project as the single meeting point of Goans across the world," Mr Faleiro said, adding "My visits strengthened the contact between our emigrants and our Embassies and High Commissions in those countries, and this is obviously very useful to our people." "In all those countries I met senior Ministers of the respective governments and discussed with them bilateral issues at the request of our Ministry of External Affairs," Mr Faleiro stated, maintaining that this helped our bilateral relations. After each of these visits, I made recommendations to our Prime Minster, Foreign Minister and Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, which were much appreciated and some of these recommendations have now been accepted and implemented, he informed. It was finally informed that Mr Faleiro also made several visits abroad, to participate in international conferences sponsored by non-governmental organisations abroad, without any financial liability whatsoever to the government. "Next October I shall go to Taiwan to participate in a conference and would like to meet Goans that may live there," the Commissioner for NRI Affairs said, noting that the visit would be rather difficult as India does not have an Embassy or Consulate in that country. "However, Goans in Taiwan who read this on the Internet may please contact me," he appealed. http://www.navhindtimes.in/news/goa-news/2148-foreign-trips-aimed-to-boost-ties-with-emigrants-eduardo
