Team Herald 

PANJIM: Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, who is part of the five-CM delegation, which will leave for Russian city of Vladivostok on Saturday, is looking forward for the visit to foster tourism ties between Goa and Russia. 

A delegation of 150 stakeholders including five chief ministers led by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal will leave for the Russian city, to enhance cooperation between the two countries in various sectors. The delegation is likely to sign Memorandum of Understanding in areas including petrol and natural gas, renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure and agriculture. 

A Goa delegation of industrial experts from various sectors led by the chief minister will be leaving on Saturday. The trade exchange programme is scheduled on August 12-13. 

Speaking to media persons about the visit, Dr Sawant said that the visit is basically trade exchange programme in the field of industries, mining, agriculture, tourism, fisheries, etc. 

"During our visit, we will know the sectors performing there and whether we can have similar facilities in our country or States," he said. 

To a question, Dr Sawant said that visit to Russia would give a major boost to the tourism sector, which has witnessed decline in Russian tourists’ arrivals. 

"It is an opportunity to foster tourism ties. We will try to understand the difficulties faced by the Russian tourists for arriving in Goa or once they arrive in the State," he said. 

The chief minister said that Goa use to witness large arrivals of Russian tourists but the same has been on the decline. 

"It is very important to understand the reasons behind the decline," he said. 

Besides Dr Sawant, the delegation will include Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath (UP), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Vijay Rupani (Gujarat) and Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra).