Mumbai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would inaugurate the third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in Mumbai on Jan 7, 2005.

Surinam Vice President Jules Ajodhia has consented to be the chief guest and will address the inaugural session of the three-day event, secretary to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs S Krishnakumar told reporters in Mumbai.

President A P J Abdul Kalam would also attend the meet and confer the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards to eminent members of the diaspora on Jan 9, 2004 he said.

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"We are expecting more participation in 2005 meet, more so from Gulf and Africa," he said adding that People of Indian Origin from Malaysia, Mauritius and Singapore will be represented in large numbers.

For PBD-2005, South Asian countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh will not be represented due to current political situations, but "we expect to open up South Asian window for PBD in the coming years," Krishnakumar said.

The first two PBDs set in motion the task of bringing Indians from every corner of the globe under one roof and created awareness about the sincerity of the Indian Government to engage with the diaspora, the official said.

PBD-2005 will intensify this effort and use the forum to elicit suggestions from delegates and prepare concrete action plan to strengthen and deepen the relationship, he said.

The meet has been structured in such a way that it would promote maximum interaction and "the Government of India will be a listener and facilitator for any projects they bring to India, rather than speakers," the official added.