By Nirmala George, IANS,
Singapore : In a reflection of its high regard for ties with India, all four of Singapore’s top leaders will address the Indian diaspora on the opening day of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held here next month.
While Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will formally inaugurate the two-day conference on Oct 10, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong will host a lunch dialogue with the participants. Later, an interactive session has been scheduled with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, while President S.R. Nathan will be the chief guest at the dinner for the delegates.
“We are setting a precedent here. All the four leaders have responded to the invitation to address the conference on the same day,” said Ong Keng Yong, former secretary-general or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Ong, who was also a former high commissioner of Singapore to India, was addressing a media briefing Friday on the Singapore Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
India has been holding the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) conferences annually since 2003, usually in New Delhi and in the state capitals in alternate years.
In 2007, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar , who was the chief guest at the PBD that year, proposed holding a gathering of the Indian diaspora in Singapore in order to give a more regional focus to the meet. With the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), India’s Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) joining hands, the Singapore PBD will be the first time that the event is being held outside India, the conference organizers said.
“Singapore is a regional hub for the Asia-Pacific. Holding the conference here will serve to bring together business leaders of Indian origin from all over the region,” said Vijay Iyengar, chairman of SICCI, who heads the organizing committee of the Singapore PBD.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Communications and IT Minister A. Raja will be addressing the conference along with numerous other high profile speakers including Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, and Sam Pitroda, chairman of India’s Knowledge Commission.
The conference will provide a platform for non-resident Indians, especially those based in Southeast Asia, to network with business leaders from India and explore the role that NRIs can play in India’s emergence as a global economic power.