NEW DELHI, April 19 (PTI): External affairs minister S Jaishankar will embark on a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic beginning Friday to explore bilateral cooperation in new areas.
It will be Jaishankar’s first visit as the external affairs minister to these countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Jaishankar’s visit to the four countries would provide an opportunity to continue high-level contacts with Latin America and the Caribbean nations and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas, particularly in the post-pandemic scenario.
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It said the minister will visit Guyana from April 21 to 23, Panama from April 24 to 25, Colombia from April 25 to 27 and the Dominican Republic from April 27 to 29.
In Guyana, Jaishankar will call on Guyana’s leadership and interact with several ministers, the MEA said on Wednesday, announcing the visit.
“The external affairs minister’s visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of foreign ministers in the India-COFCOR format and hold bilateral meetings with participating ministers,” the MEA said in a statement.
The Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) is a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM))
In Panama, Jaishankar will be calling on top leadership and will be hosted by foreign minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo.
“During this visit, the India-SICA foreign ministerial meeting will also be convened wherein he would meet representatives of the eight-country Central American Integration System (SICA),” the MEA said.
Jaishankar’s visit to Colombia would be the first foreign ministerial-level visit from India, according to MEA.
It said he would be meeting several top representatives of the government, business and civil society of the country.
Foreign minister of Colombia Alvaro Leyva Duran and Jaishankar would review the bilateral ties in their talks, the MEA said.
The MEA said Jaishankar’s visit to the Dominican Republic is the highest-level visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1999.
“The external affairs minister’s visit takes place after the establishment of our resident embassy in Santo Domingo in 2022,” it said.
Apart from calling on the country’s political leadership, Jaishankar will be holding discussions with foreign minister Roberto Alvarez.
“The two leaders would also formally inaugurate the Indian resident mission. The external affairs minister is also expected to deliver a talk at the Dominican Republic foreign ministry,” the MEA said.
A business delegation from India, led by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), will be joining Jaishankar at business events that are planned during the course of the visit.
“These meetings underline the growing interest on both sides for stronger trade ties,” the MEA said.
He will also be meeting members of the Indian community in all four countries, it said.
