Abu Dhabi: The chief minister of the south Indian state of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, is expected to visit the UAE later this month.
This will be Vijayan’s first visit to the UAE after assuming office in May.
He had visited the UAE in December last year as part of reaching out to various sections of the expatriate community in the run up to the Kerala state assembly election.
When contacted, the chief minister’s office said the schedule of the visit was not yet finalised. However, an official close to the chief minister told Gulf News that tentative dates of his visit would be December 22 and 23.
He is expected to attend a ceremony to inaugurate the new building of Sharjah Indian High School and a public reception in Dubai to be hosted by various Keralite community organisations.
An estimated more than one million Keralites constitute the largest community in the UAE. As the chief minister also holds the portfolio of NORKA, the Non Resident Keralites Affairs Department, he is expected to announce the department’s schemes and programmes for expatriates during the visit.
Vijayan is also a member of the Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) - Communist Party of India (Marxist). Earlier he had served as secretary of the Kerala state committee of the CPI (M) from 1998 to 2015.
He had served as minister for power and cooperation during 1996-1998.
Vijayan is serving his fifth term as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, elected from Dharmadam constituency. He was earlier elected in 1970, 1977 and 1991 from Koothuparamba constituency and in 1996 from Payyannur constituency.
