PM Modi inaugurates Heads of Indian Missions Conference

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Heads of Indian Missions Conference in New Delhi and paid homage to those who laid down their lives pursuing India’s interests abroad.

The three-day conference will focus on what diplomacy can do for the country. This year the theme of the conference is “Diplomacy for Development”.

Over 110 Ambassadors and High Commissioners will discuss use of diplomacy for country’s development during the event. Usually, the focus had been how international issues are shaping up, their impact on India and what India can do globally.

Before the conference, the Prime Minister along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj unveiled a memorial plaque in the External Affairs Ministry office in Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan. It is built in the memory of persons who died abroad fighting for India’s interests.

The memorial plaque is an array of six installations representing the theme of ‘Transformation’. It comprises six sandstone stems of “Bird of Paradise” flower in various stages of unfurling.

The Prime Minister, in his address, requested for inputs on the functioning of Embassies in terms of how people perceive them. He spelt the ways in which the diplomats can contribute to the country’s development.