LOKA KErALA SAbhA tO bEgin tOdAy
DUBAI — The regional Kerala Loka Sabha (LKS) is all set to begin in Dubai today. Over 400 delegates and members of the Malayali diaspora organisation are set to convene over the next two days at the Etisalat Academy in Muhaisnah.
The first day’s events will culminate with a cultural tableau and a public address by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who has been in the UAE since Wednesday. Issues and hardships faced by the global Kerala expatriate community will be discussed at the two-day summit. Recommendations and new initiatives aimed at the benefit of the expatriate community will be launched by the Kerala government on Saturday. OV Mustafa, director of Norka Roots and member and chief of LKS regional meet, told Khaleej Times that on-site registration for the event will begin today at 9am.
The Loka Kerala Sabha will formally open at 3pm. Mustafa said: “With all its members, delegates and invitees, roughly 400 people are expected to attend the main summit discussions. Once the formal ceremony is complete, the chief secretary will welcome the members. The chief minister will inaugurate the event, after which the leader of the opposition represented by KC Joseph will address the visitors.” A total of eight speakers representing the five GCC countries are expected to present their papers at the summit.
The public session will start after 6pm. After the cultural event, the chief minister will address the Malayali community. Mustafa said a total of 15,000 people are expected to attend the event and free transportation services have been arranged for interested residents.
Mustafa explained Vinay Chandran, the digital partner in the Dubai office of McKinsey will be giving a presentation on the changing ecosystem of the employment skill needs in West Asia. “The presentation will be in the context of the Indian diaspora. Pre-sessions have been made open to delegates and invitees. The session will be presented by the renowned writer Benyamin. He will be speaking on the challenges faced by non-resident Keralites outside Kerala, especially outside India.”
On Saturday morning, all sessions of discussion will be closed for the public. A panel of seven subject committee heads will be reading out their reports to which the government will be providing its response. “The chief minister will sum up the discussions and provide his responses to the issues raised. New initiatives launched by the government will be announced by the chief minister,” added Mustafa.