Bhagwant Mann visits Germany for a week, attends world's largest beverage fair

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, unlike his senior party head and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, has successfully navigated his way to an eight-day first official foreign trip to Germany to attend three business festivals, including the world's largest liquid and beverage trade fair 'Drinktec-2022' in Munich.

Mann, who reached Sunday, will also attend an auto fair and a pharma event to round off what he has termed as an effort to attract investments into Punjab. This contrasts with Kejriwal's failed endeavour to attend the World Cities Conference that ran into trouble over political clearance.

The Delhi government had expressed its displeasure over the matter, but the Centre said it was Singapore that had cancelled Kejriwal's invite due to his late application.


Officials said Kejriwal had missed the July 20 deadline for accepting the invitation, resulting in the automatic cancellation of the invite. The Centre alleged that Kejriwal wrote to the external affairs ministry seeking approval on July 21, a day after the deadline had passed.

Meanwhile, Mann was invited by Reinhard Pfeiffer, CEO of Messe Munchen GmBH, to attend the September 11-18 trade fair where exhibitors are also showcasing alcoholic drinks.

Mann has been meeting business delegations and top executives of big German companies to rope in investments and for strategic tie-ups in sectors like renewable energy, automobile manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and advance agriculture practices, according to Punjab government sources.

Mann will be meeting top executives of companies like BMW and Bay Wa during his stay in Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin, it is learnt.

Ahead of the trip, Mann had said that the Germany tour will help propel industrial growth in Punjab and also open new vistas of employment for the youth.

The Punjab chief minister had said that he would showcase Punjab as a land of opportunities and growth to entrepreneurs in Germany.