Mamata invites Barack Obama to visit Bengal

The state chief secretary, Basudeb Banerjee, was also present at the meeting. Shannon came to see Banerjee at 6.45 pm and the meeting lasted for an hour. The US official is on 4-day visit to India.

Banerjee requested Shannon to convey her invitation to the US President and Shannon in turn invited the Bengal CM to visit US.

Shannon said the United States had a very long association with Kolkata and the first consulate was set up in 1792 and also said that he  was charmed by Banerjee’s hospitality. He said that the US administration had shown keen interest in Kolkata.

Banerjee, expressed her happiness over the meeting which included several issues like investment, technology, culture and social media. During the meeting, the duo discussed the subjects being pursued by Bengal students in US.

It may be recalled that the then US foreign secretary, Hillary Clinton had also come to see Banerjee in May 2012, a year later Banerjee came to power in the state. Clinton and Mamata had discussed FDI in retail where the Bengal CM expressed her inability to back the issue. Hillary had also invited Banerjee to visit the US.