By Matters India Reporter
Kolkata, Sept 1, 2023: A delegation from Skopje in North Macedonia, the birthplace of Saint Mother Teresa visited Kolkata, the base of her charity works around the world.
The delegation visited the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity to pay their homage to the saint.
They also met Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta, and paid floral tributes amid prayers at a life-sized bronze statue of Mother Teresa stationed at the Archbishop’s House in the city.
Welcoming the visitors, Archbishop D’Souza expressed happiness over meeting “our guests” from Mother Teresa’s birthplace. He thanked Namit Bajoria, consul of North Macedonia in Kolkata for facilitating the visit.
The delegation was led by North Macedonia Foreign Affairs Minister Bujar Osmani and included the country’s Indian ambassador Slobodan Uzunov, among others.
Bajoria described Mother Teresa as the guiding force that connects Skopje and Kolkata through a spiritual bond. “While Skopje, where she was born was her janma Bhoomi (birth place), Kolkata on the other hand was her karma Bhoomi (land of action),” he said and added that he looked forward to the deepening of socio, cultural, economic and political ties between India and Republic of North Macedonia in the years ahead.
The North Macedonia foreign minister said his country attaches “great importance to India and to the deepening and strengthening our bilateral relations. We envisage opening a new chapter, a new dynamic in economic and political cooperation. I believe there is a huge untapped potential to grow economic relations between India and the Republic of North Macedonia.”
Osmani met with Vandana Yadav, chairperson, West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Limited, and explored the possibilities to forge business opportunities and collaborations between West Bengal and North Macedonia. Yadav Osmani to bring business delegations to Kolkata during the November 21-22 Bengal Global Business Summit and have business-to-business interface with local entrepreneurs and businessmen.
The foreign affairs minister also met Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and discussed possible collaborations in tourism, cultural and other areas. The mayor invited the minister to the global summit in Kolkata. Both agreed to increase cultural exchanges between North Macedonia and West Bengal.
The bronze statue of St Teresa of Calcutta, conceptualized and designed by Subrata Ganguly of Church Art, was donated in September 2016 to mark a symbolic link between Kolkata and Skopje, Macedonia’s capital city where Mother Teresa was born. The statue was inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee a week prior to the canonization of Mother Teresa in early September 2016.
Mother Teresa’s 113th birth anniversary was on August 26.