Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asked the Indian envoys to various countries to promote the state as an investment and tourist destination.At a meeting with 10 Indian envoys here, the chief minister said the state has immense investment potential and is blessed with attractive tourist destinations. "Maharashtra offers huge investment potential in various sectors, including industry, tourism, smart cities, infrastructure, etc. With the investment environment now available in the state, the foreign investors would be definitely satisfied," Fadnavis told the envoys. The chief minister also explained various policies initiated by the state on 'Ease of Doing Business' and to end the 'licence raj'. He pointed out that the state has always been the most favoured investment destination for investors around the world and that is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi selected Mumbai for the maiden 'Make In India' initiative in February.Fadnavis also said that the year 2017 would be celebrated as 'Visit Maharashtra Year' to attract tourists from across the world.
On their part, the envoys said that many European countries are keen that Bollywood movies be shot at locales there. In this context, Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Javed said that all Bollywood films released in that country are dubbed in Arabic. Which means megastar Shah Rukh Khan can be heard speaking in Arabic in the films, Javed said. Maharashtra Governor C.Vidyasagar Rao echoed a similar view when the envoys called on him later in the day. The governor urged the envoys to promote the state in the countries where they are posted, saying there are several world-class tourist destinations in Maharashtra. "This would boost tourism in the state and help improve relations between India and other countries," Rao said. The envoys included Pankaj Saran (posted in Russia), Ruchira Kambhoj (France), Jayant Khobragade (Kyrgyzstan), Debraj Pradhan (Chile), Ravi Bangar (Cyprus), Rajiv Shahare (Denmark), Vishwas Sapkal (Fiji), V. Mahalingam (Guyana), Narendrakumar Saksena (Papua New Guinea), and Ahmad Javed (Saudi Arabia).This was the first in the series of direct interaction of state leaders with the Indian envoys organised by the Ministry of External Affairs on the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Maharashtra Chief Secretary S. Kshatriya and Additional Chief Secretary Sumit Malik were present at the meeting.