New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi is off to the United States on a fortnight-long tour during which he will address the general body meeting of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and hold a series of meetings with representatives of the Indian community.

The minister, who was to leave Monday night, has got a packed schedule after reaching Los Angeles on June 27.

On June 28, he will meet members of the Indian community at San Francisco the next day. On July 1, the National Federation of Indian American Associations, Atlanta, will host a lunch for the minister and his team.

Following this, Ravi will address the AAPI general body meeting in Atlanta.

AAPI had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian government during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Hyderabad earlier this year as per which the well known doctors' body would work for the improvement of healthcare in rural India.

Last month, an AAPI delegation had held a core-group meeting with the MOIA in New Delhi in which it was decided that two pilot projects would be launched in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

The top body of Indian origin doctors in the US, which is currently celebrating its silver jubilee, will also host a dinner in honour of the visiting minister.

The AAPI meeting will also be attended by two representatives each from Andhra Pradesh and Bihar who will return to India immediately after its conclusion.

On July 2, Ravi will proceed to Orlando where he will inaugurate the annual convention of the Federation of Kerala Associations of North America (FOKANA). He will also have a meeting with members of other Indian communities in the US.

This will be followed by a dinner hosted by the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) in Florida.

On July 4, the American Independence Day, he will hold a meeting with the Indian ambassador in Washington and also meet members of the Indian community there.

A meeting with Javed Hassan, chairman of the Kochi-based IT group Nest, has also been scheduled the same day.

The minister will also hold a meeting with leading Indian businessmen in the US besides attending a lunch organised by the Adventist Church in Washington.

On July 6, the minister will reach New York where he will attend a series of meetings with Indian community members and functions organised by the Indian consul-general. He will also attend a dinner organised by the Friends of Thiruvalla.

The next day, Ravi will inaugurate the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for International Harmony and Peace at New Jersey. This will be followed by the inauguration of the International Gujarati Convention at New Jersey.

In the evening, the minister will attend a dinner with international delegates of the convention, American senators and members of parliament from India and other countries.

On July 8, the minister will attend a reception organised by the New York chapter of GOPIO.

The minister will be accompanied by his private secretary Ajit Kumar, MOIA joint secretary G. Gurucharan and deputy secretary T.Q. Mohammad.

While members of the delegation will return to India on July 8, the minister will leave for Chicago on July 9 where he will attend a meeting of Indian community members there. He will return to India the same day.