Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar will leave for Japan on February 18 with an 11-member team.
The ministry of external affairs has cleared the four-day trip, during which Nitish will visit Tokyo and Osaka.
The thrust of the tour will be on B & B: showcasing investment opportunities in Bihar to rope in entrepreneurs and financing agencies for infrastructure and industrial projects. The team will also push for financing of a plan to integrate Vaishali with the Buddhist circuit.
Nitish, who was invited by the Japanese government, will leave for Tokyo from New Delhi on February 18. The delegation will return to New Delhi on February 22 and reach Patna the next morning (February 23).
Road construction department minister Nand Kishore Yadav, who will accompany Nitish to Japan, told The Telegraph: "The Bihar government is preparing a presentation on the state and opportunities here. It will be shown to investors there. We are developing the Buddhist circuit here and we will try to get Japanese help in integrating Vaishali into it. So far, the circuit is mainly limited to Gaya and Nalanda and we want to expand it."
Nand Kishore pointed out that Japan International Cooperation Agency is providing around Rs 3,000 crore to finance the Patna-Gaya-Dobhi and Rajgir-Biharsharif four-lane roads. Efforts will be made to seek its assistance in a few other infrastructure projects.
Chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, principal secretary, road construction, Amrit Lal Meena, principal secretary, industries, S. Siddharth, the CM's principal secretary, Chanchal Kumar, are among those who will be part of the delegation. Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president K.P.S. Keshri and former Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries president O.P. Shah will also join Nitish's entourage.
An official said Nitish will deliver a keynote address in the presence of Japanese government officials and entrepreneurs. "Japan is interested in Bihar because it is the land of the Buddha and there is a large inflow of pilgrims and tourists from there," the official said.
The MEA has scheduled investors meet at Tokyo and Osaka. B2B (Business to Business) meetings will also be held during the team's visit at which Shah and Keshri will interact with entrepreneurs.
