Mamata Banerjee on 12-day visit to Spain, UAE from today to woo foreign investors
The West Bengal CM will visit Dubai, Madrid and Barcelona, where she is scheduled to hold a series of business meetings before returning to Kolkata on September 23
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will embark on a 12-day visit to Dubai and Spain from Tuesday till September 23 with an aim to attract foreign investment to her state, officials said.
Banerjee will visit Dubai, Madrid and Barcelona, where she is scheduled to hold a series of business meetings. This comes ahead of the 7th Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), which will be held on November 21-22 in Kolkata.
“Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to stay in Dubai for one night. On Wednesday, they will reach Madrid. There we have business summits and other meetings for three days. From Madrid, the chief minister will head to Barcelona to hold business meetings for two-three days. The team will then return to Dubai and hold some more business meetings. They will return to Kolkata on September 23,” an official said.
The Centre last week gave the West Bengal CM the required permissions for the visits to Spain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). State chief secretary HK Dwivedi will accompany her on the trip.
“I am going abroad after a gap of five years even though I had multiple invitations. All these years, I didn’t get the nod (from the Centre). Some invitations are pending with me even now. I don’t want to travel too far so that I may return quickly if there is any emergency,” Banerjee told reporters on Monday.
The CM has earlier travelled to Singapore, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands to attract foreign investments for her state.
Spain was the theme country of the 46th Kolkata International Book Fair (KIBF) held earlier this year, and the country has invited organisers of the KIBF to participate in the Liber Book Fair in Madrid in 2025.
“Spain was the theme country of the KIBF, and we hope that they will participate in the BGBS too in November this year. Spain’s film, football and painting are very popular. Their manufacturing industry is very important. We are hoping for the best,” she told media persons.
A senior official said that, apart from the usual investment meets, some developments are also expected on the sports front, as a delegation of various noted football clubs from Kolkata will be travelling to Spain with the chief minister.
“Sourav Ganguly, former Indian cricket captain, will also be there in Madrid at that time,” he said.