NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has lauded the role of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) for promoting the interests of the overseas Indian community.

“GOPIO has emerged as a leading organisation providing a unique platform to the vast Indian overseas community for promoting their interests and realising their aspirations,” Manmohan Singh said in a message on the 20th anniversary celebrations of GOPIO being held in New York Aug 20-23.

“It has contributed significantly in the process of engagement between the government of India and the Indian diaspora. The bonds between the motherland and people of Indian origin across the globe are valuable and precious. It is my hope that through such events, they will continue to flourish,” the prime minister added.

GOPIO International was founded at the Global Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York in 1989. It is now a global organisation engaged in promoting the interests of people of Indian origin (PIOs).

As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, GOPIO is organising a convention on the theme - People of Indian Origin: Strengthening Global Connections - Aug 21.

A GOPIO statement issued from New York said, among those who will attend the conference, are leader of the opposition and former prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Basdeo Pandey, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Community Development and Social Inequity Eradication P. Chandrasegaran, speaker of the Karnataka assembly Jagdish Shetter, joint secretary in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) D.N. Srivastava, GOPIO executive vice-president and member of Briain’s House of Lords Diljit Rana, deputy speaker of the New Jersey state assembly Upendra Chivukula and other Indian American political leaders.

Former US ambassador to India Frank Wisner will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Deputy consul general of India in New York Ajay Gondane will also be a speaker.

The three-day celebrations will start with a reception Aug 20 at the World Fair Marina venue followed by an interactive session with some of the diaspora community’s political leaders.

Apart from the convention, GOPIO is also organising a pre-convention conference Aug 21 titled - India and the Indian Diaspora in the Context of Global Economic Challenges and Development.

Another full-day diaspora conference will be held Aug 22 on the theme The Indian Diaspora: Challenges and Opportunities in the New Millennium.

There will also be a session on The Living Pioneers - Global Perspective of Indian Elders Aug 22 morning. A networking session titled The Next Generation will also be held the same day in the afternoon.