For the first time since becoming Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu's MK Stalin has on Tuesday - May 23 embarked a major overseas trip that would run for nine days. As it is the first time that MK Stalin will be out of the state for a long period as the Chief Minister, his tour to the East has drawn a sharp attention and his primary objective of this trip is to attract investments to Tamil Nadu. 

On Tuesday, MK Stalin began his overseas tour to Singapore and Japan and he is accompanied by a delegation including the newly sworn-in minister TRB Rajaa, who is the Minister for Industries, and senior officials. He left Chennai on Tuesday morning and before he emplaned, several DMK Ministers and functionaries met MK Stalin and extended their wishes to him to have a successful visit. According to the state government, MK Stalin, apart from attending the investors' meet in Singapore and Japan, he would meet the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the Singapore and Japanese companies. 

He will also be meeting the heads of government corporations and ministers during which he would invite them to invest in Tamil Nadu and to take part in the Global Investors Meet, which will be held in Chennai in January 2024. As the first leg of his two-nation tour, MK Stalin will land in Singapore where he would meet Singapore Minister for Transport and in-charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran. 

Stalin will also meet Singapore's Minister of Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam and the CEOs of top companies. During the meeting, a league of Tamil Nadu government agencies like SIPCOT - State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu, TANSIM - Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission, TNSDC - Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation, and Guidance Tamil Nadu will ink Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore India Partnership Office and Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries. 

The ceremony of signing MoUs will take place on May 24 and later that day, MK Stalin will attend a cultural programme. According to the government, Stalin's Singapore visit will focus on Fintech, skill development, and entrepreneurship. After wrapping up his Singapore visit, MK Stalin will emplane to Japan for another round of crucial tour and in Japan, he will have rendezvous with the CEOs of leading Japanese companies and invite them to invest in Tamil Nadu. 

Besides visiting Tokyo, he will also visit the commercial city of Osaka. The objective of the Japanese visit would be to focus on technological transfer, advancements, and skill development. MK Stalin will be attending a forum organized by Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Osaka and it has been expected that over 200 Japanese companies will attend this forum. 

MK Stalin would also meet Japanese Economy, Trade, and Industry Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi and JETRO Chairman Ishiguro Norihiko. Besides his official visits and meetings, MK Stalin will also attend the events organised by Tamil diaspora in Singapore and Japan. It has been reported that MK Stalin's visit would last for nine days and his tour displays how his administration is more concerned about inviting investments and making the Global Investors' meet in Chennai a grand success. 

It is pertinent to note that this is MK Stalin's second overseas trip since coming to power and first one, for being a long trip with more days. In March 2022, MK Stalin visited the United Arab Emirates and signed MoUs to the tune of Rs 6,100 crore. Recently, an official press release from the state government said that since July 2021, Tamil Nadu has signed MoUs for 226 projects bringing in investment of Rs 2,95,339 crore and employment opportunities for 4,12,565 people.