Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has assured Keralites working abroad that the government would give them wholehearted support in all their entrepreneurial ventures in the State.
Inaugurating the Global NRK Meet organised by the government and Norka Roots (a company under the Department for Non-Keralites’ Affairs) here on Thursday, he said the State had great expectations about the contributions the non-residents could make for the development of the State.
He said Keralites working abroad were in the habit of putting all their savings in the banks formerly. This trend had changed. Now they were looking for opportunities to invest both their resources and experience in meaningful ventures in their home State.
The Chief Minister said the government had the duty to give them all the help they needed. “You have a role in changing the future of the State. It is not your savings alone that will be of help. You are in the thick of what is happening all over the world. Your experience and ideas will make Kerala a dynamic State,” he said.
He sought the help of the organisations of non-resident Keralites in bringing to the attention of the government problems faced by the people from the State who had gone abroad in search of work. The government was often being called upon to help Keralites who had unfortunately landed in jails in other countries for no fault of theirs and those who found themselves stranded in far away lands due to cheating.
The government also had to often liaison with the Union government to help bring the bodies of Keralites who died in accidents abroad to their homes as early as possible. The government would not fail the non-residents in any of these duties.
Scores of Keralites who had made it big in other countries, especially the West Asian countries, are attending the two-day meet, which would discuss their role in the State’s development, the investment opportunities they had in infrastructure and service sectors and also issues pertaining to the rehabilitation of those returning from abroad.
K.C. Joseph, Minister for Rural Development, Planning, Norka and Culture, presided over the inauguration. Those who addressed the gathering included Ministers P.K. Kunhalikutty, K.M. Mani and V.S. Sivakumar; chairman of the Assembly Committee for Pravasi Welfare Abdul Rahiman Randathani; Norka Roots vice chairman M.A. Yousaffali; Norka Roots director C.K. Menon; director and chief executive officer of Norka Roots Noyal Thomas and Prncipal Secretary for Norka Department T.K. Manoj Kumar.
