Thaindian News

Patna, June 11 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Saturday left for New Delhi from where he will leave for China Sunday to explore possibilities of investments in the state and joint venture tie-ups for tourism, trade and business, officials here said.

After Mauritius and Bhutan, there is high hope that Nitish Kumar’s China visit will be fruitful for the state, which is starving for investments, particularly foreign.

An official in the chief minister office said the chief minister, accompanied by a high-powered delegation, will stay in New Delhi Saturday before leaving for a week’s China visit Sunday.

State Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Tourism Minister Sunil Kumar Pintoo, Development Commissioner K.C. Sah and two top officials are the members of the delegation, an official said.

Nitish Kumar will also be accompanied by four officials of the Bihar Chamber of Commerce and the Bihar Industries Association.

The Chinese envoy had extended an invitation to Nitish Kumar to visit China, officials said.

An official close to the chief minister told IANS here that the visit may help Bihar set up agro-based industries and investments in power and infrastructure development.

Besides, Bihar is seeking to increase the number of Chinese tourists to the famous Buddhist circuit in the state.

“Nitish Kumar is keen to study how a populous China is working in agriculture and irrigation systems and generating power,” he said.

“The chief minister is likely to market ‘Brand Bihar’ during his visit to China for investments, trade and business tie-ups and to attract Chinese tourists to Bihar’s Buddhist circuit,” he said.

Officials said that like the US and British diplomats, China too is impressed by Bihar’s changing image and development in the last few years and is keen to explore business and trade activities in joint ventures with the state.

The chief minister would try to find out what would make the stay of Chinese pilgrims comfortable and would offer land to set up tourist lodges and a Buddhist shrine at Rajgir in Nalanda district and Bodh Gaya in Gaya district.

According to officials, Nitish Kumar will visit the Great Wall of China and also visit Beijing and Shandong.

Besides, he would inaugurate a seminar ‘Budhhism: Mapping Asia’s History and Culture’ in Beijing June 18 and would attend a programme to be hosted in his honour by Indian-origin people in Shanghai.

This will be the third foreign visit by Nitish Kumar in the last five and a half years of his chief ministership.

He visited Mauritius in his first tenure in 2008. In his second tenure, he visited Bhutan last month to explore investments and promote tourism in Bihar.