Bhubaneswar, July 26: Former Prime Minister of United Kingdom Tony Blair met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Naveen Niwas on Wednesday. Both the leaders discussed economic development and growth of Odisha and the future perspectives.

Government of Odisha has inked an MoU with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) on July 21, 2023. As per this understanding, TBI will provide free policy support and assistance in developing a comprehensive economic strategy for Odisha.

The Chief Minister appreciated the preliminary suggestions of the institute, and expected this cooperation will help in securing a balanced industrial growth and resultant inclusive benefit to citizens. Patnaik thanked Blair for the support.

The former UK Prime Minister also praised Patnaik for the state’s success in different sectors. He appreciated the 5T initiative for bringing transformative changes in governance.

According to officials, the TBI will deploy 4 resources for a period of 24 months. This project team will work under the direct guidance of TBI’s leadership and its network of global experts. The team will work in close collaboration with the Odisha team.

Headquartered in London and founded in 2016, TBI is helmed by Tony Blair. TBI works in over 45 countries. TBI’s domains of expertise include governance, foreign policy, investments, infrastructure and cities, climate and energy, and human capital.

In Odisha, the project team will undertake a range of activities such as current-state analysis, external benchmarking, roadmap design, capacity development, effective communication of core reforms to enhance adoption.

Prioritisation of emerging industries, development of a multimodal transport logistics will be the main agenda to supercharge growth. (IANS)