U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the city on Sunday on the last leg of her three-nation tour that included visits to China and Bangladesh.
Her aircraft arrived at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the afternoon and Ms. Clinton walked onto the VIP tarmac waving to the photographers.
The last time Ms. Clinton was in the city was in 1997. She came to attend Mother Teresa's funeral.
A multi-tier ring of security has been thrown around different parts of the city in view of her visit.
Ms. Clinton met representatives of nine NGOs working for prevention of human trafficking and rehabilitation at the centre of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in the evening. She was welcomed by girls, rescued from human traffickers and integrated into the mainstream.
The discussions were informal and Ms. Clinton also mingled with some of the victims, said Sohini Chakraborty, director of Kolkata Sanved, one of the NGOs.
“She told us that we were doing a fantastic job and to keep our spirits up. When asked for suggestions, she said she could not help with any suggestions, but would think of how she may help with the cause,” Ms. Chakraborty added.
After the event, she visited the Victoria Memorial Hall. She visited the art galleries housing works by Gaganendranath Tagore and Sir Charles D'oyly at the monument.
