West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a meeting with Lulu Group International Executive Director Ashraf Ali MA, in Dubai, UAE on September 22, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee returned to Kolkata on September 23 evening after a 12-day tour of Spain and the UAE, and said her trip to attract investments to the State was “very successful”.
Ms. Banerjee, who landed at the city airport around 7 p.m., said that she was happy as she could do something for West Bengal.
“It was a very good trip. I have not ever seen such a successful tour in my life. I am happy that I could do so much for Bengal,” the Chief Minister told reporters at the airport here.
She also said, “The meetings were organised by FICCI a Indian Chamber of Commerce. There were major MoUs signed.” Later, in a post on X, Ms. Banerjee stated that she was back in the city with “serious offers for investments and partnerships from Spain and Dubai”.
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“Back to Kolkata with serious offers for investments and partnerships from Spain and Dubai. Follow-up overseas delegations will come shortly and during BGBS in November for carrying forward what we started. I thank the Indian Embassies, CII, FICCI, ICC, accompanying industry-business delegates and the media fraternity for working hard towards a common mission. Jai Biswa Bangla! Jai Hind!,” she wrote on the micro-blogging site.
Ms. Banerjee along with Chief Secretary H.K. Dwivedi and other senior officials, industrialists and representatives of three major football clubs — Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting — had left for the tour of Spain and Dubai on September 12, primarily to attract investments to the State ahead of the Bengal Global Business Summit scheduled in November.
In Spain, the Bengal Government signed an MoU with the Spanish football league La Liga to set up an academy in the State for nurturing young talents.
Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly joined the delegation in Madrid from London.
Ms. Banerjee, in Dubai, held meetings with senior officials of the Lulu Group International and also with UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, who was present at the programme.