Dr Neelam Diwakar Gorhe, the Deputy Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, is leading a first-of-its-kind delegation on a three-nation Europe tour that concludes in the UK this weekend.
Joined by Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar and 22 legislators from the state, the delegation has been conducting a study tour across Germany and the Netherlands before their interaction with Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami in London this week.
Dr Gorhe said: “This is the first time there are more than 50 per cent women delegates in this delegation, when we visited Germany and the Netherlands and the UK is our third and final destination.
“His Excellency explained that we should concentrate on education, trade and also finance and technology. On the people to people cooperation front, he highlighted the need for providing support to women married in India and then finding themselves in trouble here in the UK. They get about 10 cases per week of women who need help, for which they need support organisations to assist with their rehabilitation.”
The focus of the delegation is to explore potential state partnerships with the UK in the field of trade, technology and sustainable energy.
Narwekar said: “The prime purpose of this visit is a study tour to understand the various developmental aspects which are happening in these countries. It is also to understand environment related issues, how they are being dealt with by these countries. We are also primarily interested in how these countries are dealing with climate change. And last but not the least, the possibility of increasing trade between these countries and Maharashtra.
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“Most of our legislators represent various parts of the state. Ours is an agrarian economy where a large portion of the economy is covered by agriculture. Therefore, representatives from across the state also want to understand how agricultural produce can be promoted in these countries.”
The team is also scheduled for a diaspora interaction organised by the Maharashtra Mandal.