Branch secretariat of Ext Affairs ministry opened in Chennai

CHENNAI: A branch secretariat of External Affairs Ministry was inaugurated in the city by Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee today.

Speaking on the occasion, he said the new branch would ensure more effective and productive interaction between the ministry of External Affairs, the government and people of Tamil Nadu.

Certain services, such as attestation of documents were provided only by the consular division of the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.

With the opening of the branch secretariat, those services could eventually be provided in Chennai itself, thereby avoiding inconvenience to the people of the state, he said.

The pesence of the branch secretariat would also facilitate many other routine tasks such as clearance for state government delegations visiting abroad and logistics during visits of foreign dignitaries to the state, he said.

It would also serve as a window for interaction with a large number of foreign consulates and honorary consulates located in Chennai and they would be able to submit their requests on various issues of day-to-day functioning directly to the Branch Secretariat, he said.

He also announced that two more passport offices would be opened in Tamil Nadu before the end of the year to bring the services closer to the people. The new offices would be opened at Madurai and Coimbatore.

At present, most of the consular and passport services to the people of the state were rendered directly by the passport offices located in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli.