Bengaluru, June 2 (IANS): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday invited seven senior Indian diplomats to be ambassadors of the state to promote it at various international fora.

"You are the ambassadors and high commissioners of India. While you proudly represent our great country at various fora, I call upon you also to be the ambassadors of Karnataka. Help us promote our state, even as you promote our nation," said Siddaramiah in a meeting here.

The chief minister met J.S. Mukul, Ambassador to Netherlands; Nandini Singla, Ambassador-designate to Portugal; Ruchi Ganashyam, High Commissioner to South Africa and Kingdom of Lesotho; Radhika L. Lokesh, Ambassador to Ireland; Vikram K. Doraiswamy, Ambassador to Korea; and Gaurav Shrestha, High Commissioner to Mozambique.

Siddaramiah also invited the senior diplomats to the next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, scheduled in January 2017 at Bengaluru Palace in the city.

Highlighting that the state government is pursuing the vision of 'Shared growth and prosperity', he said Karnataka has always welcomed better and long lasting relationships with other states and nations.

Further elaborating, Siddaramiah said: "We have focused on three key elements: Create large scale employment by promoting industrial growth, moving industry to all parts of the state including the most backward regions of the state and focus on improving on the socio-economic health of all the residents."

According to Siddaramaiah, Karnataka is third among Indian states in attracting FDI while its GDP grew at seven per cent to reach $120 billion in 2015.

"The state's degree of openness to export is 48 per cent against a national average of 24 per cent. Karnataka's share in all India exports stands at 13 per cent and it accounts for 40 per cent of all software exports from the country," he said.

Showcasing several other favourable indicators, Siddaramaiah informed the diplomats about the excellent opportunity Karnataka offers to various industries, nations and expatriates.