AMN
President Ram Nath Kovind will leave on an official visit to three African countries Benin, The Gambia and Guinea today. The seven-day visit will be the first high-level tour of any Head of State from India to the three West African countries.
Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises/Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, and Member of Parliament, Dilip Ghosh, will accompany the President.
Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry, Vijay Thakur Singh, said the President will arrive in Cotonou, Benin, tomorrow afternoon. Mr Kovind will hold talks with President Patrice Talon on Monday. Later, the President will address the National Assembly in Porto Novo. Mr Kovind will also meet members of the Indian Community at a reception hosted in his honor in Cotonou.
During the visit to The Gambia, Mr Kovind will hold delegation-level talks with President Adama Barrow in the capital, Banjul, on Wednesday. As a special gesture, the National Assembly, which is currently in recess, will hold a special session for the address of President Kovind on the same day.
On the last leg of his visit, the President will arrive in Conakry, the capital of Guinea on 1st August. Mr Kovind will hold delegation-level talks with his counterpart on 2nd August.