Ms Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal is due to reach London on 26th July, starting her official tour in the UK from 27th to 30th July 2015. She will be accompanied by a 36 member delegation as well as a team of 14 journalists representing several Indian media.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron, during his visit to Kolkata in 2013, had particularly extended an invitation to the Chief Minister of West Bengal. This will be Ms Banerjee's first visit to the UK.
During her visit, Ms Banerjee hopes to meet Britain's Prime Minister Mr David Cameron, though, sources reveal, she is still waiting for her appointment from No 10. She has confirmed to attend a reception by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, and meet the Cabinet Minister of State for Employment, Ms Priti Patel later at Locarno Suite. While Ms Banerjee is not yet confirmed to attend the UKIBC 300 delegate meeting on 27th July, she has promised to have dinner with Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt, the UKIBC Chair, on the same day.
On the 28th, the Chief Minister is confirmed to have a lunch meeting with the Indian delegates and plans to attend an evening of musical performance by an ensemble of Maestros from West Bengal.
On 29th July, Ms Banerjee is meeting business delegates at an event jointly organised by KPMG and FICCI, followed by a trip to Tavistock square to offer floral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and to Gordon Square, to the bust of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. She is then due to attend a private dinner at the Indian High Commissioner's residence in Kensington.
Before returning to India, Ms Banerjee is also supposed to meet the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, to perhaps acquire a few tips on city development. Though it is Ms Banerjee's first visit to the capital, a big fan of this city, she promises to convert Kolkata to a replica of London, in due course.
The business delegation coming to the UK with Ms Banerjee from India will include:
- Dr Jyotsna Suri, Chairman Lalit Group & President, FICCI
- Mr Sumit Mazumdar, CMD TIL Ltd & President, CII
- Mr Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Industries
- Mr Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, CESC
- Mr Y C Deveswar, Chairman, ITC
- Mr Harshvardhan Neotia, Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group
- Mr Sunil Kanoria, Vice Chairman SREI and Senior Vice President, ASSOCHAM
- Mr Saroj Poddar, Chairman, Adventz Group
- Mr Y K Modi, Chairman and CEO, Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd
- Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman, HSBC
- Dr Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd
- Mr Aniruddh Dhoot, Director, Videocon Industries Ltd
- Mr Roopen Roy, MD, Deloitte Consulting India Pvt Ltd
- Mr Gaurav Swarup, MD, Paharpur Cooling Tower Ltd
- Mr Harsh Vardhan Patodia, CMD, Unimark Group
- Mr Sushil Mohta, MD, Merlin Group
- Mr Utsav parekh, Chairman, SMIFS Capital Markets Ltd
- Mr Sanjay Budhia, Managing Director, Patton International Ltd
- Mr Rudra Chatterjee, Director, Luxmi Tea Group
- Mr Mayank Jalan, Managing Director, Keventer's Fresh
- Mr Partho Ghosh, Managing Director, Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd
- Mr Umesh Chowdhury, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Titagarh Wagons Limited
- Mr Nishant Kanodia, Matix Group
- Mr C K Dhanuka, Chairman and Managing Director, Dhunseri Investments Ltd
- Mr Shrikant Mohta, Director, Shri Venkatesh Films
- Mr Sumit Dabriwala, Managing Director, Riverbank Developers Pvt Ltd
- Mr Ravi Poddar, Chairman, Ravi auto Ltd
- Mr Ujjala Sinha, Managing Director, Genesis Advertising Pvt Ltd
- Mr Raful Saraf, Managing director, Forum Group
- Mr Sanjiv Paul, Managing Director, Tata Metalliks
- Mr Karan Paul, Chairman, Apeejay Surrendra Group
- Mr Mahendra Soni, Director, Media Worldwide Pvt Ltd
- Mr Nandu Belani, Managing Director, Belani Group
- Mr Shiv Siddhant N Kaul, Managing Director, Nicco Engineering Services Ltd, Nicco House
- Ms Pallavi P Kaul, Vice-Chairman, Nicco Parks & Resorts Ltd, Nicco House
- Mr C S Ghosh, Chairman & MD, Bandhan Financial Services Pvt Ltd
Indian Journalists' Association members in the UK are hoping for an exclusive press interaction with Ms Banerjee, depending upon her schedule. The Bengali community living in the UK is excited to welcome their beloved 'Didi' to UK and are hoping to felicitate the Chief Minister as well.
