New Delhi (NVI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will begin his three-nation tour to Bahrain, UAE and Seychelles from November 24 to 29 during which he will be meeting his counterparts and also the top leadership of these countries.
In the first leg of his three-nation tour, Jaishankar will visit Bahrain on November 24-25. It will be his first visit to the country as EAM.
He will personally convey condolences on behalf of the Government and people of India to the Bahraini leadership on the demise of Prime Minister of Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa on November 11, according to an official press release.
Jaishnkar will also hold talks on bilateral issues as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest. Bahrain hosts more than 3,50,000 Indians and both countries have worked together to face the Covid-19 pandemic. Flights are operational between both countries under an air bubble arrangement.
In the second leg, the Foreign Minister will visit UAE on November 25-26. He is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister of UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on November 26. Both leaders will take forward the excellent cooperation between India and UAE under our comprehensive strategic partnership and exchange views on various regional and international issues.
EAM will also discuss ways for Indian workers to resume their jobs in UAE in the post-Covid scenario. More than 3 million Indians live and work in UAE.
India and UAE have maintained close high-level contacts during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the pandemic.
EAM has also spoken to the UAE Foreign Minister several times in the past few months. They also co-chaired the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting in September 2020. A meeting of the High Level Task Force on Investments (HLTFI) was co-chaired by our Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways and Chairman, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in early November.
In the last leg of his tour, EAM will travel to Seychelles on 27-28 November 2020. EAM will call-on the newly elected President of Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan to present greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss with him the priorities of the new Government and avenues for further strengthening India-Seychelles bilateral relations.
Jaishnkar will also hold bilateral consultations with the newly appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism Sylvestre Radegonde.
Notably, the External Affairs Minister has travelled to Russia for SCO summit and Japan for QUAD meeting, during the pandemic.
-ARK
