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Shri Vayalar Ravi, Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs and Civil Aviation, inaugurated the ‘Indian Diaspora Conference’ in the Hague, Netherlands on 25th September, 2011.
The Theme of the Conference was ‘The Indian Diaspora in the Netherlands: Achievements, contributions and challenges.' Over 300 participants representing more than 70 India related organizations attended the event. These organizations included think tanks, business chambers, cultural associations, youth organizations, ladies clubs, students’ organizations etc.
The Conference, which was attended by HE Mr. Jozias van Aartsen, Mayor of The Hague & former Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands; Leader of the Opposition and former Justice Minister of Suriname Mr. Chandrika Prasad Santokhi; H.E. Mr. Bob Hiensch, and Mr. Rabin Baldewsingh, Deputy Mayor of The Hague.
Minister in his inaugural address congratulated the ‘Foundation for Indian Diaspora in Europe’ for being proactive in organizing the event. He said that the Conference would strengthen relations between various sections of the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands, increase visibility of the Indian diaspora in the Dutch social, cultural and political spectrum and work as a catalyst to further the cause of economic and cultural cooperation between India and the Netherlands.
Minister had a meeting with Mr. Henk Kamp, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment of the Netherlands and discussed issues related to the Social Security Agreement (SSA) and Human Resource Mobility Partnership (HRMP) between India and the Netherlands. Social Security Agreement has been signed and Human Resource Mobility Partnership has been finalized. Both would facilitate management of migration between the two countries.
Separately, Minister visited the Gandhi Smriti and the Indian Library, where a bust of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was recently installed.
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