PANAJI
Goa will witness 11 heads of States arriving here during the BRICS summit with India also co-hosting the BIMSTEC retreat at the same venues and at a similar time.
The Chief Protocol Officer of the Ministry of External Affairs Sanjay Verma who was interacting with media persons over issues surrounding the BRICS summit also said Goa was chosen not only for BRICS but also for BIMSTEC because of its cosmopolitan and welcoming nature as well as its long standing connect with the outside world.
BIMSTEC is the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation and includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand besides India.
“It is the vision of the Prime Minister of cooperative federalism in which we want states to be involved in hosting events of a national and international scale and an opportunity to move out of a Delhi-centric approach.
“Goa has a vibrant cosmopolitan society and has always been welcoming and has had exposure to Russia in the form of tourists, Brazil through the Portuguese connection and South Africa since the days of Vasco da Gama," Verma said adding that it would put Goa on the world map further boost tourism in the form of "collateral concessions." He however admitted that there will be minimal inconveniences to locals in the wake of security concerns. "It is only when there is movement of VVIPs that there will be inconvenience. We hope for some understanding, patience and cooperation from Goans when it comes to inconveniences involving traffic movement and security restrictions. But this is only for national and Goan prestige and honour," he said. Other challenges like narrow roads, etc would be lived with and worked around. More than 800 delegates are expected to arrive in Goa and the venue for the main event has been selected as Taj Exotica in Benaulim while The Leela and Park Hyatt would also be closely involved. Earlier in the day, officials of the Union Ministry of External Affairs had a meeting with the delegations of participating countries at the starred hotels along Salcete's coastal belt. The meeting held at the Taj Exotica, Benaulim and later at the Leela Palace, Cavelossim took stock of the arrangements for the two day summit. Sources in the know said the security arrangements were also discussed during the meeting, though the major focus on the day-long meeting was the schedule of the two-day summit which will be held in Goa in mid-October. Sources said the delegations of all participating countries attended the meeting and were briefed about the arrangements. Representatives of the security agencies, including senior officials of the Goa police were also present. Given that Goa is playing host to the BRICS summit, hectic arrangements are underway, right from the summit point of view to the question of toning up the infrastructure and other logistics. While the PWD has laid a carpet of hot mix on the damaged road.
