Devendra Fadnavis to promote Maharashtra tourism during Japan visit

MUMBAI: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will focus on promoting Maharashtra tourism and attract investment by Japanese companies in the state during his five-day tour to Japan starting September 7.

Fadnavis will inaugurate a memorial and a statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in Wakayama province of Japan on the first day of his visit, where he will be accompanied by state Social Justice Minister Rajkumar Badole and RPI (A) President Ramdas Athawale, according to an official from the CMO.

"The focus will be on promoting Maharashtra tourism where Japanese people will be encouraged to visit our state. There is also a road show lined up at Tokyo along with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) that will be aimed at promoting Buddhist centres in the state," he said.

Fadnavis is also scheduled to meet leaders and businessmen in Tokyo, where he will pitch for Japanese investments into India, he said.

The CM is also likely to sign a MoU with select Japanese banks for investment in India. "The meeting will take place with banks like Mizuho and SoftBank, two of the biggest Japanese banks," the official said.

A seminar on promoting investment in the state, to be organised jointly by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), is also scheduled during the trip, he said.

Officials from MTDC, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will accompany the CM on tour.

Fadnavis has already visited five countries during his tenure as CM, starting with his trip to Davos in the US with Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley to participate in the World Economic Forum.

This was followed by his five-day trip to Germany in April this year, Israel visit also in the same month, tour to China in May and the US trip in June-July.