Bihar is gearing up to present itself in a new avatar at a global meet to be held in Patna between January 19 and 21. This first-of-its-kind gathering has gained further importance with President APJ Abdul Kalam extending his verbal consent to inaugurate the meet.

The global meet aimed at showcasing a resurgent Bihar as an investment destination is being jointly organised by Institute of Human Development and a Patna-based news portal, bihartimes.com, in collaboration with the state government.

Apart from the President, Mauritius Prime Minister, Navin Ramgopal, whose forefathers migrated from Bihar, is likely to be another guest-of-honour at the meet. Initially the state had chosen to restrict itself in the role of just a facilitator, but now it is actively participating to make the event a grand success.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took the lead by extending invitations to the President Kalam and Mauritian Prime Minister to participate in the meet. “The Chief Minister had a conversation with the President in which he accepted the invitation and gave his consent to participate in the meet. Now a formal confirmation from Rashtrapati Bhavan is awaited and it is likely to reach this evening”, said an official in the Chief Minister’s office.

Around 500 delegates, mostly eminent NRIs and experts from different fields are set to participate in the three-day meet.