Industries Minister P. Rajeeve on Tuesday expressed strong protest over the Central Government’s denial of permission for two senior officials from Kerala to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to oversee the arrangements for the State’s participation in the World Expo in Dubai.
In a pressnote issued here, he said the Ministry of External Affairs had refused travel permission for Principal Secretary, Industries, K. Elangovan and Industries Director S. Harikishore. The two officials had sought permission to visit the UAE from November 10 to 12 to supervise the setting up of the Kerala pavilion and other arrangements at the expo.
The Ministry, however, informed the State Government that the request had been turned down. “No reason has been cited in the communication from the Ministry. Instead, it has suggested that the officials travel to UAE in the first week of December.”
The Minister said the Kerala pavilion to be held from December 24 to January 6 was envisaged as a platform to showcase the potential of the State in the industries and tourism sectors on a global arena. “It is with this objective that the Government had decided to send the senior officers to Dubai to organise the pavilion and make arrangements,” he added.
