Steel Minister Visiting Australia and New Zealand to Strengthen Cooperation in Coal and Mining Sector

A high level delegation led by the Union Minister of Steel, Shri Beni Prasad Verma, is on a five day visit to Australia and New Zealand from 26th January, 2014.  The visit will boost cooperation in the areas of mining and coal supply. Shri Verma is scheduled to meet Minister of Industry and Resources, Government of Australia, Mr. Ian Macfarlane.  He will also meet Minister of Natural Resources & Mines, Government of Queensland, Mr. Andrew Cripps and Deputy Premier, Government of Queensland, Mr. Jeff Seeney. The delegation is set to discuss various areas of cooperation with Government of Australia and the State Government of Queensland.  The discussions are being initiated at an appropriate time, when India is planning to increase its steel production to 300 Million tonnes by 2025 from the present production of about 80 Million tonnes. Shri Beni Prasad Verma will also meet Mr. Simon Bridges, Minister of Energy & Resources, Government of New Zealand. The two leaders are expected to forge bilateral relations in areas of mining. The Indian delegation comprises Chairman, SAIL, NMDC and ICVL, Shri C.S. Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Shri S. Abbasi, CMD, MOIL Ltd., Shri G.P. Kundergi, Director Technical (NMDC), Shri N.K. Nanda and CEO, ICVL, Shri Ajay Mathur.