From correspondents in Delhi, India, 07:00 PM IST

The global financial crisis will make the next get-together of overseas Indians more significant as they search for safe havens for investments, the government said Thursday.

A statement of the ministry of overseas Indian affairs quoted the secretary K. Mohandas as saying that the global financial crisis has 'created a need for increased interaction between India and the 'persons of Indian origin' abroad'.

Maintaining that Indian business was doing much better than other countries, Mohandas said he expected substantial business to take place during the convention and several joint plans of action to emerge.

He said this during the first meeting of the organising committee, which met to review preparations.

The two-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be inaugurated by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, with the Singapore president S. Ramanathan to be the chief guest. More than 1,500 delegates are expected to participate.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)