Patna : Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam arrived here on Monday to a tumultuous reception on his maiden three-day visit of Bihar, which is being treated as a kind of "homecoming" for the foreign dignitary.
Ramgoolam, accompanied by his wife Veena Ramgoolam and a 30-member official delegation, landed at the Jayaprakash Narayan international airport here by a special IAF Boeing.
Ramgoolam, whose ancestors hailed from a Bhojpur village, touched the soil as he alighted.
The couple were received by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister S K Modi, who presented them bouquets.
State Water Resources Minister Ramshray Prasad Singh, Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav and Director General of Police Ashish Ranjan Sinha were also present.
He later inspected a guard of honour before driving straight to Raj Bhavan.
A 16-member cultural delegation from Mauritius also came along with the Prime Minister.
During the day, Ramgoolam would unveil the statue of his father and first prime minister of Mauritius Sir Sewoosagur Ramgoolam installed at the intersection of the historic Gandhi Maidan and exhibition road.
He would be later accorded civic reception at S K Memorial hall.