Manama, June 27: Indian Ambassador to Bahrain, Vinod K Jacob, inaugurated the Odisha State Tourism and One District One Product (ODOP) walls at the Consular hall of the Embassy to promote the tourist attractions of Odisha.

The inauguration was held in the presence of several members of the Odiya community living in Bahrain.

Ambassador H.E. Mr. Vinod K. Jacob inaugurated the Odisha State Tourism and #ODOP walls at the Consular hall of the Embassy in presence of members of Odiya community living in Bahrain. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/7c5eKTRtwp
— India in Bahrain (@IndiaInBahrain) June 26, 2024

"Ambassador of India H.E. Shri Vinod K. Jacob inaugurated the Odisha State Tourism and One District One Product (ODOP) walls at the Consular hall of the Embassy in the presence of members of Odiya Community living in Bahrain," the Indian Embassy in Bahrain said in a press release.

"These walls highlight touristic attractions as well as exquisite products identified under ODOP scheme, of the state of Odisha," it added.

A short cultural presentation and 'Taste of Odisha', culinary delicacies was arranged by the Odiya community on this occasion.

On the occasion, Ambassador Jacob spoke in Odiya and also thanked the Odiya community for assisting the Embassy in sourcing the ODOP items.

Further, he said that the initiative is aimed to promote the Odiya culture and promote Odisha as a tourism destination.

"I am very happy to inaugurate the ODOP wall...this will go on for two and a half months, during which we have two objectives. With the help of the Odiya community in Bahrain to promote the various projects of Odisha...we also want to promote Odisha as a tourism destination. Odisha has great history, it has excellent warm, welcoming people," he said.

"We want to take the help of the Bahrain-Odiya community here to push the message of Odisha as one of the best places to visit," the Ambassador added.

He said the Indian Embassy there has organised similar events for states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. He also urged the Odiya community there to participate in the initiative.

"This is our fifth initiative with Odisha. Next time we are planning to do it with some other state. I expect the Odiya community in Bahrain to contribute actively and take ownership of this," Ambassador Jacob further said.

Under the 'Focus state/union territory' initiative of the Embassy of India, touristic and ODOP products of a particular state are being promoted in Bahrain for a period of around one month.

Notably, Odisha is the fifth focus state to be featured at the State/Union Territory Wall in the Consular hall, after Rajasthan, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

The Embassy had engaged the diaspora of Karnataka in procuring and displaying the ODOP items for the first time. Odisha is the second focus state featured in the Consular Hall, where the ODOP items are also displayed, the release stated.

Several ODOP products of Odisha were exhibited at the Embassy. The ODOP items will be displayed for a month.

ODOP initiative aims to select, brand, and promote at least one product from each district of the country to enable holistic socio-economic growth across all regions. Under this initiative, all products have been selected by States/UTs by taking into consideration the existing ecosystem on the ground, products identified under Districts as Export Hubs and GI-tagged products, the release added.

(ANI)

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