GUWAHATI, Feb 24: External Affairs minister S Jaishankar and heads of missions of 61 countries took elephant and jeep safari rides in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) on Monday morning, officials said. The envoys arrived in Jorhat along with the minister on Sunday night and reached KNP, famed for its one-horned rhinoceros, early this morning.
The ambassadors first took the elephant safari inside the park’s central range at Kohora with Jaishankar riding the famed elephant, Pradyumna.
Spouses of several ambassadors took the rides while the envoys of countries participating in the Advantage Assam 2.0 Infrastructure and Investment Summit such as Bhutan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and others will arrive directly in Guwahati, the chief minister said earlier.
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After the elephant safari, they enjoyed the jeep safari inside the park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Jaishankar and some of the envoys were seen feeding the elephants after the safari.
The minister told reporters that it was an ‘amazing experience. We saw animals such as the rhinoceros, water buffalos and various species of deer’.
“We had read about this only in books and seen in films. It is a great way to start the day”, he said.
Jaishankar further said he was happy to note that a lot of tourists are coming to visit KNP.
“I am told that more than three lakh tourists have visited KNP during this season. It is a very good trend. We want Assam and other states of the North East to get more international profile – both for tourism and investment”, Jaishankar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also says that people should visit different states within the country as ‘we have both natural and creative tourism’, the minister added.
“An early morning safari @kaziranga_ National Park, along with Ambassadors. Assam’s natural wildlife scenes are indeed stunning and pristine. Next stop- Advantage Assam 2.0”, Jaishankar had earlier posted on X.
Replying to the post, the chief minister said, “Happy to learn that Hon’ble Minister and Distinguished Ambassadors had some very good sightings in Kaziranga. I look forward to hearing more about their visit during today’s #JhumoirBinandini”.
Many of the envoys described the experience as ‘amazing’ and that they will return with ‘memories for a lifetime’.
The flags of all the countries of the visiting ambassadors were flying at the KNP entrance.
Assam agriculture minister Atul Bora, Kaziranga Lok Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, KNP director Sonali Ghosh and DFO Arun Vignesh accompanied the guests during the safari.
Jaishankar along with the ambassadors will leave for Guwahati later in the day to witness the Jhumoir dance performance by nearly 9,000 artistes in the evening where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present.
The heads of missions will also attend the inaugural session of the Advantage Assam 2.0 Infrastructure and Investment Summit on Tuesday. (PTI)
