EAM to address seminar on SAARC in Kolkata

New Delhi, Aug 31 (UNI) A two-day seminar to discuss the opportunities and challenges to accelerating cooperation within SAARC will be held in Kolkata from tomorrow.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will deliver the key-note address at the seminar which will be organised by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs in association with Research and Information System (RIS), Global India Foundation (GIF) and FICCI.

The seminar on 'SAARC: Accelerating Cooperation through Connectivity' will be attended by academicians, think tanks, representatives of industry, intelligentsia, civil society and senior officials.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will also attend the inaugural session.

The seminar will discuss issues related to Globalisation and Economic Integration : Imperatives for South Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, Strengthening Physical Connectivity in South Asia and Fostering People-to-People Connectivity in South Asia.

Ever since its creation in April 2006, the Public Diplomacy Division of the MEA has been in contact with researchers, think tanks, academia, civil society and industry, both within India and abroad, to highlight the contours of Indian foreign policy, as well as initiate debate and discussion within the wider public about the key foreign policy issues confronting India.

UNI