The second annual summit of Loka Kerala Sabha, a common platform for the cultural, socio-political and economic integration of non-resident Keralites, will be held in the state, on January 2 and 3 next year. The first convention will be held at the Legislature Complex in Trivandrum.
The organising committee which met on October 10, formed various sub-committees for the annual summit, a release issued by the chief minister’s office said.
“As part of the Loka Kerala Sabha, an Overseas Employers Conference will be organised on December 7 at Kochi,” it said. International seminars on various topics will be held in Trivandrum, Calicut and Ernakulam.
Various subcommittees were set up for the conduct of the session.
International seminars on migration have been planned in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts. Open fora, seminars, workshops and cultural programmes would be conducted as a precursor to the convention.
Since one-third of the members are retiring this year following the guidelines issued last year, new members would be selected from maximum countries, it said.
The first summit had formed seven panels to identify the issues and the government has been implementing the suggestions put forth, Mr.PinarayiVijayan, Chief Minister, said.
“The investors meet at Dubai recently was a huge success. We are organising another investors’ meet at Kochi in January 2020,” he said.
The 351-member Sabha comprises MPs and MLAs from the state, non-resident Keralites with Indian citizenship nominated by the state government, and select members of the expatriate returnee community.
The first regional Loka Kerala Sabha was officially inaugurated by the Chief Minister in Dubai on February 15 this year. P. Sreeramakrishnan, Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, opened a two-day summit at the Etisalat Academy later in the day
Mr.Vijayan had announced a range of new initiatives for the benefit of non-resident Keralites, including an NRK dividend-cum-pension scheme. The conference is discussing several welfare measures for NRKs, and the establishment of important institutions to support the state’s development. Budget allocations for several NRK welfare schemes and new institutions were announced as well.
The forum is aimed at creating a common platform for all the Keralites from within the State, other States, Union Territories and outside India. The encouragement of togetherness and mutual co-operation of Keralites the world over and to work for the promotion and progressive enrichment of Kerala culture are the prime objectives of the Sabha.
It is estimated that the remittances by the non-resident Keralites amount to 30 percent of the gross production of Kerala.
