President Ali departs for official State visit to India

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday departed Guyana for a seven-day Official Visit to India, where he would be conferred with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) for the year 2023.
The Guyanese Head of State is slated to be the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) – Indian Diaspora Day event – which will be held from January 8-10, 2023 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He will be bestowed with the 17th PBSA award – the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians – by Indian President Droupadi Murmu during the valedictory session of the Convention on January 10.
President Ali will join 26 other persons of Indian origin/non-resident Indians who have been recognised by the Government of India for their outstanding achievements both in India and abroad for this year’s awards.
While in India, the Guyanese Leader will also participate in the Pradesh Government Global Investors Summit and other engagements with officials of the Government of India and agencies/organisations of the Private Sector of India.
Accompanying President Ali on this visit are Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd; Minister within the Ministry of Local Government, Anand Persaud, and the Director of Projects at the Office of the President, Marcia Nadir-Sharma.
Earlier this week, it was reported that a high-level delegation comprising both Government officials and local Private Sector representatives would join the Head of State.
A jury-cum-awards committee, with the Vice President of India as the Chairman, the External Affairs Minister of India, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as the Vice Chair and other distinguished members from various walks of life considered the nominations for the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2023, and unanimously selected the awardees. The awardees represent the excellence achieved by the Indian Diaspora in various fields.
High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa has officially congratulated President Ali on being the recipient of the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, calling it a recognition of the outstanding contributions of President Ali to Guyana and his efforts to bring about the rapid and equitable development of the country.
The High Commissioner also expressed hope that the Guyanese Leader’s visit to India for the PBD 2023 and subsequent interactions with the top political hierarchy, including President Murmu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would provide the necessary impetus for further strengthening bilateral partnerships between India and Guyana.
President Ali is also slated to engage India’s External Affairs Minister and other dignitaries as well as have high-level interactions with the business/private sector of India especially pertaining to the agriculture, agro-processing, health, pharmaceutical, infrastructural, Information Technology and energy sectors.
In his New Year’s message for 2023, High Commissioner Srinivasa had called upon Guyanese to work for the growth and success of Guyana and to play an active role in fulfilling “Guyana’s unique destiny”.
With the receipt of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, President Ali will join former Guyanese Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar who were also bestowed with this prestigious award in 2004 and 2015, respectively.