New Delhi [India], October 10 : The Ministry of External Affairs organised a Videsh Sampark Programme with the State of Andhra Pradesh on Friday, as part of its outreach activity with the States of India to promote cooperative federalism.
Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA), MEA, co-chaired the Videsh Sampark Programme with Kaveti Vijayanand, Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. Kondapalli Srinivas, Minister for the Society for the Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), and NRI Empowerment and Relations of the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, graced the event. Other senior officials from MEA and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, Regional Passport Officers from Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, Representatives of the Business Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Recruiting Agencies also participated in it.
The Videsh Sampark Programme had in-depth dialogue amongst the stakeholders on MEA's programmes, schemes and initiatives pertaining to Consular, Passport, Visa and Diaspora issues, promotion of Safe and Legal Migration and Mobility and for upholding the welfare of the Indian Workers abroad.
MEA also made a presentation on how Andhra Pradesh could leverage its unique strengths to promote international tourism and investments within its territory. The various interactive sessions during the event also provided an opportunity for both MEA and Andhra Pradesh to examine the steps required for enhanced coordination and cooperation to address the aforementioned issues, streamline procedures, and share best practices.
It is worth noting that the Videsh Sampark Programme was launched by the Ministry of External Affairs in 2017. Since then, it has been organised with Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Uttarakhand. The ministry plans to continue this initiative with other Indian states in the future.