West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (September 12) left for a 12-day tour of Spain and the United Arab Emirates aiming to draw investments to her state.
Mamata's flight to Dubai was delayed by nearly three hours due to a technical snag, an official said earlier in the day.
Mamata along with her team was scheduled to depart for a 12-day visit to Spain and Dubai from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 8.30 am. She and her team finally flew from after a delay of around three hours. She will take part in business summits to attract investments to West Bengal.
“Her flight was delayed by at least three hours due to technical glitches,” sources in the chief minister’s office said.
A senior airport official said that the flight which was scheduled to fly Mamata and her team to the United Arab Emirates, arrived late from Dubai.
Mamata will spend the night in Dubai due to the unavailability of connecting flights, before departing to Spain’s Madrid tomorrow.
“It's been five years since we went abroad. Spain was the theme country of this year's International Kolkata Book Fair. They are good in manufacturing and other industries. We will be participating in business conferences there,” Mamata said while talking to the reporters at the airport.
"They (foreign delegates) come here again and again. But we don't go. That's why we are going now. A business conference is also scheduled in Dubai. I will keep you people informed from time to time," she added.
Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly, who is currently in London, will join her team in Madrid.
"We will stay in Madrid for three days, during which we will attend a business summit and meet non-resident Bengalis. From there, we will take a train to Barcelona, where we will participate in a two-day meeting for the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS)," she had told reporters at state secretariat Nabanna on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister claimed that this would be her first foreign visit in five years as the Centre “had not given her necessary permission earlier”.
Mamata said that she will return to Dubai where she will attend a meeting on BGBS and some other meetings.
"We will stay in Dubai for one-and-half days before returning to Kolkata on September 23," she said.
On whether she will meet any office-bearer of any football club during her stay in Barcelona, which is known to be the home of several world-famous football clubs, Banerjee said, "Let there be some surprises. When I am going there, I want to do something for Bengal."
Sources in the state government said Banerjee may meet La Liga president Javier Tebas during her stay in Barcelona.
(With PTI inputs)
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