Centre nod to Bengal CM's UK visit from March 21

Kolkata: The Centre on Wednesday approved West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's proposed visit to London later this month to deliver a lecture at the University of Oxford, a source at state secretariat Nabanna said.

Banerjee is slated to leave for London on March 21 and is scheduled to deliver the lecture on March 27, the source added.

Pro vice chancellor of Oxford University, Jonathan Michie, had invited her in November 2023 when he was in Kolkata for the Bengal Global Business Summit.

The CM's flight to London is scheduled on March 21 via Dubai.

This will be Banerjee's second visit to the UK after November 2017 when she had attended a business meeting organised by Scottish Development International with the support of the Asia Scotland Institute and the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, in Edinburgh. The CM is scheduled to return on March 29.

In September 2023, Banerjee went to Spain to attract investments for the state. From there, she attended another business conference hosted by the Dubai administration.