AMN
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a five nation tour to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, United States and Mexico from June 4.
On the first leg of his visit, Mr Modi will reach Herat in western part of Afghanistan tomorrow afternoon. There, he will inaugurate India-Afghan Friendship Dam earlier known as Salma Dam.
Briefing media in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said, the Prime Minister will arrive in Doha, the capital of Qatar tomorrow evening, where he will hold meeting with the Emir of Qatar to further strengthen bilateral relations. Mr Jaishankar said, apart from this, Mr Modi will visit workers’ camp and also hold meeting with business leaders.
The Foreign Secretary informed that during Mr Modi’s visit to Switzerland, the Prime Minister and the President of the Swiss Confederation Johann Schneider-Ammann will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
Replying to a query on black money stashed in Swiss banks, Mr Jaishankar said, India has received support from the Swiss authorities on exchange of data and it hopes to engage with Switzerland in automatic exchange of information as early as possible.
In the United States, Mr Modi will address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress besides holding meeting with President Barack Obama. He will also hold meeting with US India Business Council with interact with Indian community.
Foreign Secretary Jaishankar said, the main objective of the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence and security, and to intensify cooperation for the future.
The Prime Minister will wind up his tour by visiting Mexico on 8th of this month and hold talks with leadership of that country. The focus of the visit will be on expanding economic cooperation.
Before leaving for his five nation visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam in Herat is a symbol of the friendship and would usher in hope, light up homes, nourish the fertile fields of Herat and bring prosperity to the people of the region.
Mr Modi, in a Facebook message said, he is looking forward to meet President Ashraf Ghani and exchange notes on regional situation and setting agenda for bilateral cooperation in the coming period.
Talking about his Qatar tour, the Prime Minster wrote that the visit is aimed at strengthening economic and people-to-people ties between the two countries.
About Switzerland, the Prime Minister said, he will hold talks with President Schneider-Ammann to deepen bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
On his visit to USA, Mr Modi said it is aimed at building upon the progress achieved in Indo-US ties and adding new vigour to strategic partnership.
About his visit to Mexico, Mr Modi said it is a privileged partner in the Latin American region.