Former UK PM Tony Blair calls on Odisha CM, discusses economic growth of state
Jul 26, 2023
Bhubaneswar [Odisha], July 26 : Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday at the latter’s residence, Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneshwar, said the Odisha CM's office.
The two leaders discussed the economic development and growth of Odisha and the future perspectives.
The Government of Odisha has inked an MoU with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) on July 21, 2023. As per this agreement, TBI will provide free policy support and assistance in developing a comprehensive economic strategy for Odisha, it said in a press release.
The Chief Minister appreciated the preliminary suggestions of TBI and expected this cooperation will help in securing balanced industrial growth and resultant inclusive benefit to citizens. He thanked Blair for the support, the release added.
Blair also praised the CM for the state’s success in different sectors. He appreciated the 5T initiative for bringing transformative changes in governance.
The TBI will deploy 4 resources for a period of 24 months. This project team will work under the direct guidance of TBI’s leadership and its network of global experts.
The team will work in close collaboration with team Odisha team.
Headquartered in London and founded in 2016, TBI is helmed by Former Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair. TBI works in over 45 countries. TBI’s domains of expertise include governance, foreign policy, investments, infrastructure and cities, climate and energy, and human capital.
In Odisha, the project team will undertake a range of activities such as current-state analysis, external benchmarking, roadmap design, capacity development, and effective communication of core reforms to enhance adoption. Prioritization of emerging industries and development of multimodal transport logistics will be the main agenda to supercharge growth, the release said.
