 Today, India's global profile and presence is unprecedented. The world's fastest growing major economy is the preferred destination for world leaders. And this reflects the outreach efforts of our own leadership. The Protocol Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, in coordination with other governmental agencies, plays a crucial role in facilitating the country's foreign engagements. The Protocol Division comprises three sections. Protocol One handles the logistics of all incoming visits of foreign presidents, royalty, vice presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers, and outgoing visits of the president, vice president and prime minister. Protocol One also handles entertainment functions hosted by the prime minister, vice president, external affairs minister and officials of the Ministry of External Affairs. Protocol Two deals with privileges and immunities like import or purchase of personal belongings of diplomats, buying, registration, selling, scrapping of diplomatic vehicles, issuance of ID cards to diplomats, security liaison for diplomatic mission and personnel. Protocol Three deals with appointment of honorary councils and councils general of foreign countries in India. It also facilitates the establishment of consulate general, trade offices and cultural centres by foreign embassies. Airport entry passes for foreign missions are also an area of responsibility of Protocol Three. Branch Secretariats of MEA also issue ID cards to members of the consulate generals and consulates of foreign diplomatic missions. Visits by foreign dignitaries attract a large amount of media attention. The External Publicity and Public Diplomacy or XPD Division of the Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for all arrangements in respect of foreign media. Each incoming visit requires specialised knowledge of the guest nation. The territorial divisions of MEA provide this expertise. Delhi Police and other such agencies provide security for the dignitaries, some of whom may be international celebrities. An incoming foreign visit invariably begins at the airport. Each visit includes several elements. At the Raj Tripati Bhavan, the guest receives a ceremonial welcome and inspects the guard of honour. This is followed by a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. Then comes the customary call by the External Affairs Minister. The nucleus of the engagements are the meetings between our Prime Minister and the foreign dignitary in the majestic Hyderabad House in New Delhi. These engagements include restricted or one-to-one talks, delegation level talks, exchange of agreements, press statements and a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister in honour of the visiting dignitary. Hyderabad House offers a truly spectacular setting to our foreign guests. During visits at the level of head of state, the President hosts a dinner banquet in honour of the visiting President, King or Queen. There are other standard elements during visits such as a business event. A visit may also include private elements and travel to places outside Delhi. The states are encouraged by the Government of India to become stakeholders in India's foreign engagements. In an era of globalization and foreign direct investment driven growth, no state can afford to remain aloof. The world is looking at India as an engine of global growth. The Government of India envisions all its 29 states and 7 Union territories, engaging with the outside world for economic opportunities, follow best practices and develop organic links with its diaspora. Every nation needs international partnership for its progress. The linkage has been went in an integrated work as international partnership in trade, investments, innovation, technology, tourism, education, skills and health growth state governments have a stake in that and responsibility for their success. Not long ago, only the capital and Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai were the standard stops for foreign dignitaries. However, in line with the Government of India's conscious approach, visits are increasingly undertaken to places like Goa, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jaipur and other such places. Many states also take a lead in this and invite foreign governments for investor summits and diaspora events. Many a times the foreign dignitary is accompanied by the Prime Minister himself, stressing the importance of the engagement. India also hosts a number of multilateral summits and meetings. Earlier, they were mostly organized in Delhi or other metros but the endeavor in recent years has been to spread such events in different state capitals such as Goa, Amritsar and Bengaluru. Protocol provides a conducive environment to ensure successful engagements with foreign delegations. Deans from different departments and agencies work around the clock to ensure that the visits achieve the intended objectives and a visit is not over until the dignitary's flight takes off. The warm Indian hospitality always leaves a lasting impression but every goodbye also opens the doors to a new hello. With over a hundred visits each year, the preparations are soon on for the next visit.