Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik reaches Rome, will meet Pope Francis

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reached Italy’s capital Rome along with his high-level delegation early this morning.

Patnaik met the Indian Ambassador in Italy Dr Neena Malhotra post his arrival in Rome.

It is to be noted here that Patnaik has led a delegation comprised of Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra, secretary to Chief Minister (5T) V.K. Pandian, principal secretary, food and civil supplies, V.V. Yadav, principal secretary, industries, Hemant Sharma and resident commissioner in New Delhi, Ravi Kant. They left for Rome from New Delhi.

He is slated to visit the headquarters of the World Food Program (WFP) in Rome and share the transformative initiatives of Odisha in the field of food security and disaster management.

He will meet the executive director of WFP, David Beasley and the senior leadership of WFP. He will have detailed discussions on Odisha’s partnership with WFP and future projects which will further help the state in ensuring food security in a sustainable manner.

During his stay in Rome, the Chief Minister will meet His Holiness Pope Francis in The Holy See, Vatican.

Further, Patnaik will also meet the Odia diaspora from various parts of Europe. He will discuss the possible ways to engage with the diaspora in promoting the art and culture of Odisha and also enabling them to partner in the state’s transformational journey.

On his way back, Naveen will meet investors from the Middle East and adjoining regions in Dubai. He will extend an invitation to the potential investors to come and invest in Odisha and assure them all the support and facilitation by the state government.

He will also have one-on-one meetings with some big investors from the region. A high-level industrial delegation from Odisha will also be present during the investors’ meet for possible partnerships with foreign investors.

The Chief Minister will meet the Odia Diaspora from the Middle East in Dubai and discuss with them Odisha’s transformational journey over the last two decades and invite them to partner with the state government.

Patnaik is scheduled to return to Odisha on June 30.