Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala and his deputies are on their way to the United States to inaugurate the American Regional Conference of the Loka Kerala Sabha on June 10 at the iconic Time Square and the prestigious Marriott Marquis in New York City.
Vijayan, who left Kerala on June 8th will kick-start his U.S. trip by paying a visit to the 9/11 Memorial in New York, which will be followed by a visit to the United Nations headquarters on the same day.
The organizers of the event expressed optimism for the success of this global event, especially in the context of controversies, accusations, and expectations regarding the American Regional Conference.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the Regional Conference of the Lok Kerala Sabha on Saturday, June 10th at the Marriott Marquis near Time Square. Speaker of the Kerala Assembly, AN Shamseer will preside over the event.
The Kerala Chief Minister will inaugurate the Business Investment Meet on the 11th at Marriott Marquis, where he will interact with the investors in the US, including prominent American Malayali leaders, IT experts, students, women entrepreneurs, and other people from various fields. The Chief Minister will address the American community at a public meeting that evening.
On June 12th, the Chief Minister will meet Martin Reiser, Vice President of the World Bank South Asia Region in Washington DC. On the 13th, the Chief Minister will personally visit the Maryland Waste Management Systems. On the 14th, he will leave New York for Cuba. The Chief Minister will participate in various programs in Havana on the 15th and 16th and will meet with various dignitaries. The Chief Minister is also visiting important historical places including the Jose Marti National Monument.
New York State Senator Kevin Thomas, Illinois State Representative Kevin Olical, Texas Missouri City Mayor Robin Ilakatt, Texas Fort Bund County Judges Julie Mathew, Surendran Patel, KP George and others are participating as special guests at the Lok Kerala Sabha. They will hold discussions with the Chief Minister and the Lok Kerala Sabha representatives.
The officials of the organizing committee said that such discussions will help promote the vision in creating a New Kerala. Positive and negative responses to this conference are being received from individuals, organizations, and movements. But before leaving for New York, NORCANA Vice Chairman told the media that all these controversies are irrelevant and unnecessary.
Along with the Chief Minister, Finance Minister K.M. Balagopal, Chief Secretary Dr. VP Joy, various departmental secretaries to Chief Minister, and VM Suneesh will also arrive in New York. Chief Minister’s wife Kamala Vijayan, Speaker’s wife, and son are also in the group.
The American Regional Conference will be held on June 9, 10 and 11. Organizing committee president KG Manmathan Nair had already stated that not even a penny is taken from the government treasury for the conference and the expenses are borne by the sponsors and the American Malayali community. At a public event in New York’s famous Times Square, Vijayan will also speak to the international audience, organizers of the event said.
Apart from the members and invitees from the countries of the American region of the Loka Kerala Sabha, special invitees from the Malayali community will also come to New York. NORCANA Director Dr. M Anirudhan is leading the organizing committee.
Describing the objectives of the event, the organizers say, “Kerala’s people and its culture have traveled beyond borders, and to every corner of the world, fostering their assimilation and integration with the rest of the world. This movement of people and with them, our culture has created myriad Keralas of vibrant and distinct characters outside the geographical boundaries of the state. It is imperative to constitute a democratic space in order that cultural, socio-political and economic co-operation between home and outer Keralas are facilitated.
“The Government of Kerala has always been keen on sustaining close ties with its vast population residing abroad and within other Indian states and has formed the Loka Kerala Sabha Secretariat in the year 2018 along with its flagship program, the Loka Kerala Sabha. Previous Loka Kerala Sabha meetings in 2018 and 2020 has been successful with Malayali diaspora participation.”
The state of Kerala hosts the Loka Kerala Sabha (World Kerala Assembly) as a way to unite the Malayali diaspora that lives all over the world. The Department of Non-Keralite Residents is in charge of hosting it. It intends to use NRKs’ expertise for Kerala state development. The Loka Kerala Sabha would meet once every two years.
The Loka Kerala Sabha is a forum where the representatives of non-resident Malayalees meet together with the people’s representatives of Kerala to discuss and solve the issues related to the world Malayali community. The main sessions of the Loka Kerala Sabha, formed in 2018, were held in 2018, 2020 and 2022 at the Kerala Assembly Complex.
Apart from this, the first regional conference was held in Dubai and the regional conference of European countries was held in London. New York is hosting the regional conference of the American countries, which includes the USA, Canada, and the North American-Caribbean region.
