External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar will be on a three-nation tour starting Sunday, visiting Saudi Arabia, Germany and Switzerland on an official visit between September 8 to 13.
The EAM will first visit Riyadh on Sunday to attend the First India–Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting. During the two-day visit, he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers from GCC member countries.
"India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people–to-people ties. The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
On the second leg of the visit, Jaishankar will travel to Berlin on a two-day visit starting September 10 which will be his third bilateral visit to Germany.
"Both India and Germany share a robust Strategic Partnership and Germany is one of India's prominent trading partners and among the largest Foreign Direct Investors. During the visit, EAM will meet German Federal Foreign Minister as well as the leadership and other Ministers from the German government with an objective to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations between India and Germany," the MEA stated.
The External Affairs Minister will thereafter travel to Geneva, home to a large number of UN bodies and international organisations, on the last leg of his tour.
"During his Switzerland visit, Jaishankar will meet with heads and representatives of international organisations with whom India is actively engaged. The EAM will also meet Swiss Foreign Minister to review the close partnership between the two countries and explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further," the MEA detailed.
(With inputs from IANS)
