A delegation from Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, comprising Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Bujar Osmani, His Excellency, Mr. Slobodan Uzunov, Ambassador in India, and others visited Kolkata.

The delegation from Mother Teresa’s hometown paid their respects to St. Teresa of Calcutta by visiting the Mother House. They also met His Grace, Thomas D’Souza, the Archbishop of Kolkata, and laid floral tributes and prayed at a life-sized bronze statue of Mother Teresa that is located at the Archbishop House in Kolkata.

In a meeting with Smt. Vandana Yadav (IAS), Chairperson of the WBIDC, Mr. Osmani looked into the prospects for creating economic relationships and partnerships between West Bengal and North Macedonia. During the subsequent Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), Smt. Yadav requested and invited Mr. Osmani to bring business delegations to Kolkata and facilitate business-to-business (B2B) interactions with regional businesspeople.

The Foreign Affairs Minister also spoke with the Mayor, Mr. Firhad Hakim, about potential partnerships in the tourism, cultural, and other sectors. The minister received a special invitation from the mayor to visit Kolkata for the next BGBS. Both parties endorsed expanding cross-cultural interactions between West Bengal and North Macedonia.

In order to establish a symbolic connection between Kolkata and Skopje, the capital city of Macedonia, where Mother Teresa was born, Mr. Namit Bajoria donated the bronze statue of St. Teresa of Calcutta in September 2016. It was conceptualized and designed by Mr. Subrata Ganguly of Church Art. A week before Mother Teresa was declared a saint in early September 2016, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee publicly unveiled the statue.

Priyanka Dutta