Barely a week after visiting Delhi to attend the National Development Council (NDC) meeting, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is coming to the national capital again, to have a meeting with Germany’s envoy to India.
The chief minister is expected to meet Ambassador Michael Steiner tomorrow to hold talks on Vibrant Gujarat, the biennial investor meet organised by the Gujarat government to attract foreign capital. The meet is expected to start from January 12.
Modi was also planning to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow, but the plan had to be cancelled because the prime minister would be in Kochi on the day for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations.
The Gujarat chief minister had recently met several foreign dignitaries and ambassadors of countries such as the US, the UK and Japan.
The growing influence of Modi could also be gauged from the fact that he was received as a state guest in China and Japan when he had visited these Asian countries in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
“A lot world leaders and ambassadors have expressed the desire to meet Narendra Modi because of his growing influence in Gujarat and national politics. He is one of the most talked about politicians of the country and people expect him to play a significant role in the future as well so they want to establish contact with him, as nobody wants to be left out,” said a senior official of the Gujarat government, who requested anonymity.
During his day-long visit, Modi is also scheduled to call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari. Senior officials of the Gujarat government said that since Modi could not find time to meet the president and the vice president during his last visit, he wanted to meet them this time.