Bhubaneswar, July 26 (FN Agency) Former Prime Minister of United Kingdom Tony Blair on Wednesday discussed on the economic development and growth of Odisha and the future perspectives with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Naveen Niwas here. It may be mentioned here that the Government of Odisha has inked an MoU with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) on July 21 last. As per this understanding, TBI will provide free policy support and assistance in developing a comprehensive economic strategy for Odisha. Patnaik appreciated the preliminary suggestions of TBI, and expected this cooperation will help in securing a balanced industrial growth and resultant inclusive benefit to citizens and thanked Blair for the support. Official sources said Blair also appreciated the 5T initiative for bringing transformative changes in governance in Odisha. 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 team Odisha.
The TBI founded in 2016, is helmed by Former Prime Minister of UK, Sir Tony Blair. TBI works in over 45 countries. TBI’s domains of expertise includegovernance, 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. Prioritization of emerging industries, development of a multimodal transport logistics will be the main agenda to supercharge growth.