PM takes corporates, antiques on trip

Since this is Vajpayee’s first foreign visit after the Gujarat riots, signals of any weakening of investor interest or his being quizzed on the communal conflagration by the NRI community will also be under scrutiny.

An agreement to be signed during the Singapore visit will see 11 antiques and around 950 microfilms on British rule being dispatched to the Asian Civilisation Museum.

Foreign office officials say while it was proposed that the antiques cargo be carried in Vajpayee’s plane itself, it was later decided that they be dispatched afterwards. This despite the fact that the PM is travelling to Singapore in a Boeing 747 and will catch an Airbus 320 to Cambodia.

The consignment of 11 antiques comprises three 12th century Vishnu, Sridevi and Bhudevi statues, a Hyderabad plate, two hookas and five 18th Century miniature paintings. The antiques will be on loan to the Asian Civilisation Museum for 10 years.

During his Cambodian trip, Vajpayee is likely to sign three important agreements. The first, for the restoration of the ancient Ta Prohm temples, will see teams from the ASI back in Cambodia after a decade since they had earlier been involved with conservation works in the Angkor Wat complex.

An agreement for facilitation of visas for Indian officials and diplomats is also in the offing as well as a significant Civil Aviation Agreement.

Though Cambodia maintained an ‘‘open skies’’ policy, Indian carriers are not landing at either Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Once the agreement is signed in the PM’s presence, the onus will be on Indian carriers to study the viability of putting Angkor Wat on the tourist map for Indians.