Secretary, FPI, Anita Praveen, chaired a roundtable interaction with foreign missions in India on Thursday at Vigyan Bhawan Annexe, New Delhi. This was in continuation to the multiple roundtable interactions held since November 2022, to apprise the Ministry’s plan of action for the Mega Food Event 2023 and discuss potential areas of collaboration. The roundtable witnessed participation from representatives of 19 Foreign Missions in India which included HE Ambassadors of Serbia, Myanmar, and senior officials from New Zealand, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Netherlands, and Mexico.

Secretary, FPI, in her keynote address, highlighted that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is organizing a Mega Food Event from 3rd to 5th November 2023, which is being envisaged on a much larger scale than the event earlier organized by the Ministry in 2017. She stated that the event would cater to all subsegments of food processing and allied sectors. In addition to this, the event will also focus on promoting millets and millet-based value-added products, as 2023 has been declared as the ‘International Year of Millets’. Secretary, FPI further added that through the event the Ministry envisages showcasing India as a global food supply hub.

Representatives from all countries were requested to share their input and suggestions on the proposed structure of the event to make it comprehensive and inclusive for all relevant stakeholders globally. Participants were also requested to create awareness about the event amongst senior policymakers, agri-food companies, academia, and much more in their respective countries and actively participate as partners to make the event a grand success.

All participants ensured their support to the Ministry with the planned activities as a precursor to the Mega Food Event as well as with the final event in November 2023. Some of the suggestions/feedback given by the participants included inviting financial institutions to the event, specifically focusing on the research &development segment, food safety, and security. All representatives from the Foreign Missions also congratulated the Ministry on its progress for the Mega Food Event. They assured to inform their respective Ministries, business chambers, agri-food, and allied industries companies for ensuring maximum participation from their respective regions.

Further, the Investment Facilitation Cell (Invest India) was directed to connect with all the participants to share further information about the mega event as well as explore areas of collaboration.