Portuguese PM Antonio Costa to be Chief Guest at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

The Union Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, on 21 November 2016 announced that Antonio Costa, the Prime Minister of Portugal, accepted the proposal be the Chief Guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

On the other hand, Michael Ashwin Satyandre Adhin, Vice President of the Republic of Suriname will be the Special Guest at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is scheduled to be held from 7 January to 9 January 2017 at Bengaluru in Karnataka. The Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held on 7 January 2017.

About Antonio Costa

• Born on 17 July 1961, Antonio Costa is the Prime Minister of Portugal. He has been in office since 26 November 2015.

• Previously, he served as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs from 1997 to 1999, Minister of Justice from 1999 to 2002, Minister of State and Internal Administration from 2005 to 2007, and Mayor of Lisbon from 2007 to 2015.

• He was elected as Secretary-General of the Socialist Party in September 2014.

About Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated in India on 9 January each year.

• It is celebrated to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India.

• The day also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa in Bombay on 9 January 1915.

• The decision to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was taken in accordance with recommendations of the High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora set up by India Government under the chairmanship of L M Singhvi.

• The day was formally established in 2003.

• It is sponsored by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs of the Government of India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region of India.

• During the celebration, a forum for issues concerning the Indian Diaspora is organised and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards are also given.

• The 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The Theme for the year was "Apna Bharat, Apna Gaurav". The Chief Guest was Donald Ramtar, President of Republic of Guyana.