Mukesh Ambani, top central mins to attend Mamata’s biz meet dinner

Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani will be among the many dignitaries attending a dinner to be hosted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on 7 January at the New Town Eco Park, Rajarhat. 

He will be in the city to attend the two day Bengal Global Business Summit scheduled to be held at the Milan Mela ground on 8 January. Ambani will come in his private aircraft.

Union Ministers Arun Jaitley (Finance), Suresh Prabhu (Railways) and Minister of State for Coal Piyush Goyal will also attend the dinner. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari will attend the meeting on 8 January. 

Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, along with eminent industrialists Sanjeev Goenka, Harsh Neotia and Sanjay Budhia are among the invitees to the dinner. 

The dinner will be held on the lawns of Eco Park Island and guests will be ferried to the island by a boat.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will deliver the welcome address on 8 January morning. 

This will be followed by speeches by State Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Arun Jaitley. Guests from other countries will also address the session. 

A senior official of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), which along with the State government will host the event, said there would be discussions on smart cities, e-commerce and other key issues.

On 9 January, there will be detailed discussions on industrial infrastructure, skills and services, cluster leadership and new horizon. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will deliver the closing speech. Senior state government officials said that as the land bank had been prepared land would not be a problem for the businessmen. 

The state expects more investment this year as infrastructure and connectivity have improved – with MSME, food processing, tourism, urban infrastructure and township, and power as thrust areas. The state government is will stress on skill development and cluster leadership.