Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday appealed to seven senior Indian diplomats to be “ambassadors of the State” to promote Karnataka at various international forums.
During an interactive session here, Mr. Siddaramiah said: “You are the ambassadors and high commissioners of India. While you proudly represent our great country at various fora, I call upon you to also be the ambassadors of Karnataka. Help us promote our State, even as you promote our nation.”
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Mr. Siddaramaiah invited the senior diplomats to the next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, scheduled in January 2017 in the city.
The Chief Minister met J.S. Mukul, Ambassador to the Netherlands; Sanjiv Kohli, High Commissioner to New Zealand; Nandini Singla, Ambassador-designate to Portugal; Ruchi Ganashyam, High Commissioner to South Africa and Kingdom of Lesotho; Radhika L. Lokesh, Ambassador to Ireland; Vikram K. Doraiswamy, Ambassador to Korea; and Gaurav Shrestha, High Commissioner to Mozambique.
Highlighting that the State government is pursuing the vision of “shared growth and prosperity”, he said Karnataka had always welcomed better and enduring relationships with other States and nations. Mr. Siddaramaiah said Karnataka was third among Indian states in attracting FDI, while its GDP grew at 7 per cent to reach $120 billion in 2015.
