Minister of State (MoS), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), V Muraleedharan will be paying an official visit to Guatemala, Jamaica and The Bahamas from 5-10 July 2021, MEA said on Saturday.
An MEA release said that this will be his first visit to these countries as MoS. During the visit, he will call on the top leadership and meet with Foreign Ministers of these countries.
MoS Muraleedharan's visit to Guatemala (5-6 July) will follow up on the visit in May 2018 of Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu. He will also meet the Guatemalan Minister of Economy.
He will interact with the business community including the Heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Guatemala with a view to enhance bilateral trade (currently USD 309.86 million) and boost investments.
The MoS will also interact with the Indian community in Guatemala. Guatemala is the current Pro-tempore President of Central American Integration system (SICA) with which India has an established engagement mechanism.
The MoS will visit Jamaica from 7-8 July. This will be the first visit by an Indian Minister to Jamaica in 4 years. In addition to his official engagements, the MoS will inaugurate the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at May Pen city and visit the Old Harbour Bay where the first Indians landed in Jamaica 175 years ago. He will also interact with a wide cross-section of the Jamaican society comprising business leaders and Indian community members.
The visit of MoS to The Bahamas (9-10 July) will be the first standalone high-level visit from India to this Caribbean island. In addition to his official meetings, the MoS will interact with the Bahamian society comprising of business leaders and Indian community members.
India's relations with Jamaica and the Bahamas have been cordial and based on democracy, membership of the commonwealth, English language and cultural heritage. They also support each other's candidatures at various multilateral fora.
The visit of MoS will provide an opportunity for reviewing the progress in our bilateral ties and further strengthening multifaceted relationship with all the three countries, including in SICA and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
( With inputs from ANI )
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