Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam will visit Varanasi on September 11. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time in the city. The talks will focus on trade, technology, and tourism cooperation.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will host a dinner for the visiting Prime Minister. The Mauritius PM’s visit to India spans from September 9 to 15. The main events will be held in Kashi (Varanasi).
Ramgoolam will be welcomed at Babatpur Airport with a guard of honour. He will pay respects at Shri Kashi Vishwanath and Baba Kalbhairav temples. The Prime Minister will visit cultural landmarks, including Sarnath and BHU’s Bharat Kala Bhavan. He will also witness the Ganga Aarti.
Prime Minister Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Ramgoolam in Varanasi. It will be the first time a Mauritian PM holds such a meeting in Kashi. The discussion will mainly cover industrial development, technological innovation, and tourism.
The government appointed Divisional Commissioner S Raj Lingam as the nodal officer for the visit. He will prepare detailed protocols and plan the programmes. Officials will finalise the venue and event details soon. They have not yet received the minute-to-minute schedule.
This visit follows the one by the former Mauritius PM, Pravind Jugnauth, who came to Kashi on September 11, 2023. Jugnauth immersed the ashes of his relative at Dashwamedh Ghat.
Kashi’s Legacy of Hosting Global Leaders
Varanasi has hosted foreign leaders before. Prime Minister Modi hosted Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in December 2015. That visit led to the gift of the Rudraksh International Convention Centre as a symbol of Indo-Japanese friendship.
In March 2018, Modi hosted French President Emmanuel Macron in the city. They inaugurated a solar power plant in Mirzapur and visited local artisan clusters. Their visit also included a boat ride on the Ganga from Assi to Dashaswamedh.
Officials will announce more details about Ramgoolam’s itinerary and venues soon. The bilateral meeting will focus on enhancing trade and tourism between India and Mauritius.
This will be the third time Modi hosts a foreign leader in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi.
Devotees and citizens eagerly await the visit, seeing it as a boost to Varanasi’s global cultural and diplomatic stature.
