Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan returned to the state on Tuesday morning after concluding his 12-day official tour of foreign countries, including the US.

Vijayan, along with a high-level delegation, had embarked on a three-nation tour of the US, Cuba and UAE.

Travelling to New York, the CM attended the regional conference of the Loka Kerala Sabha on June 9.

During the conference, Vijayan held various discussions, including with the heads of the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer in New York. He also met World Bank officials in Washington DC on June 13.

Addressing a public event at the iconic Times Square in New York, Vijayan highlighted Kerala's progressive values, social harmony, and equitable growth.

He had outlined infrastructure development and investments in public schools, the health system, and other sectors undertaken, as well as economic growth and development achieved by his administration.

After his US visit, the CM and the delegation flew to Cuba, where he met Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel. The leaders discussed the possibilities of cooperation between the Latin American nation and the South Indian state in the fields of sports, health, and biotechnology.

In the final leg of the tour, Vijayan travelled to Dubai to inaugurate the first ever Infinity Centre of the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).

A "startup culture" in Kerala is changing the attitude of the state's youth from job seekers to job givers, which will not only strengthen the ecosystem of "up-and-coming" firms but also help generate over 20,000 jobs in the current financial year, he said at the event.