Tamil Nadu minister serves Pongal to mark harvest festival in Davos. Watch

TRB Rajaa served pongal, a sweet dish, to mark the harvest festival of Thai Pongal in Davos.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is holding its Annual Meeting from January 15 to 19 in Davos, Switzerland. The meeting is being attended by several political leaders from all over the world, including India, US, China, France and Sri Lanka, among others. UN Secretary Antonio Guterres, World Bank President Ajay Bagga and Director-General of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, are among the attendees as well.

Meanwhile, India, especially Tamil Nadu, is in the middle of Pongal, a multi-day harvest festival observed in January. The four-day festival is celebrated with much fervour by Tamils and is dedicated to express gratitude to nature and cattle. To mark the colourful festival, Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce TRB Rajaa served up Pongal, a sweet dish, in Davos.

A video and a few pictures of Rajaa serving pongal to delegates from a large steel container have surfaced. While serving the sweet dish, he also wished everyone a “happy Pongal”.

Pongal is a dish prepared using the newly harvested rice with milk, jaggery and nuts. It is especially made during the harvest festival in earthen pots. An overflowing pot, while making the special fare, symbolises prosperity and abundance.

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Rajaa is in Davos with a delegation led by him to pitch Tamil Nadu as a global investment destination. This comes after few days post the success of securing Rs 6.64 lakh crore of investment commitments at the recent Global Investors Meet in Chennai.

In addition, Rajaa will also highlight the success of Tamil Nadu’s economic growth. “The 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is centred around the theme of ’Rebuilding Trust’ and we cannot build trust without an inclusive and sustainable society. A key objective for us this year is to present our state’s highly skilled talent pool, effective policies and robust infrastructure, and highlight Tamil Nadu’s distinctive approach to governance and politics, also known as the Dravidian model,” the minister said.

“In showcasing our Chief Minister (M K Stalin)’s vision for a USD 1 trillion economy at Davos, we will also spotlight the successes of the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024.”

“We also aim to highlight the state’s dynamic industrial ecosystem, our exceptional talent pool and our capabilities and potential in research and development, data centres, electronics, semiconductors, EVs, green fuels, energy storage, quantum computing and other emerging sectors,” he added.