3rd Conference of Indian Heads of Missions in Delhi from August 27-29

The conference will be inaugurated tomorrow by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also address the meeting tomorrow, an official press release from the Ministry of External Affairs said here today.

The first of these conferences was held in December 2008 and the second in August last year.

The release said 119 HOMs from Indian Embassies and High Commissions around the world would attend the conference.

The HOMs will also call on President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President M Hamid Ansari, a former career diplomat, during their stay here.

Among others, the conference will be addressed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) President Karan Singh and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon.

According to the release, the HOMs will participate in a series of interactive sessions which will also cover India's relations with key nations and regions as well as regional and international issues of importance to India.

The HOMs will also interact with distinguished personalities from business and industry, including Mr. Gurcharan Das and Ms. Indra Nooyi, during sessions being organized by industry associations such as CII and FICCI, the release added.

NNN