West Bengal Chief Minister will leave for Singapore today

Kolkata, Aug 16: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will embark on her maiden foreign visit to Singapore on Sunday after assuming office in 2011, with an agenda to attract investment in the state.

[Read: BJP mocks Mamata's Singapore visit]

She will be accompanied by a 'very high level' official and business delegation. State Finance Minister Amit Mitra had recently said that Singapore Foreign Minister K Shanmugam invited Banerjee to visit that country and she accepted it.

He had further said that she would use the opportunity to attract foreign investment in the state. The Chief Minister wants to build sustained relations and would meet the Singapore Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, he had said.

During a programme here on Thursday, the Chief Minister had said: "If anyone wants to set up industry in Bengal, they are most welcome. We have also started the initiative of skill development. Companies like Samsung and Raymonds are partnering with us," she had stated.

Mitra had said that work on industrialisation projects of Rs 78,000 crore were currently on in the state and there were proposals of more than Rs one lakh crore.

Talking about the availability of land for industries in Bengal, Mitra had said, "The state government has set up land banks and land parks from where industries have availed plots. The state government has ample amount of land in those land banks".

PTI