Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will on Wednesday depart for a visit to the African nations of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Krishan Pal Gurjar, two Members of Parliament and Senior Officers of the Government of India.
Vice President’s official engagement in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi will include a call-on the Presidents of the three countries, bilateral meetings with his counterparts, delegation level talks, meetings with Speaker of Parliament and interactions with business groups and Indian communities.
In Botswana, Vice President’s visit will last from October 31 to November 2, he will officially inaugurate the “Global Expo Botswana 2018” along with his counterpart, where 25 Indian companies and business houses covering a range of sectors will also be participating.
Naidu will then visit Zimbabwe from November 2 to November 4, where he will meet with the Foreign Minister and lay the foundation stone of the Chancery project. He will witness the signing of several Memorandums of Understandings (MoU) and will announce LoC projects.
In Malawi, the Vice President will stay from November 4 to 5. Here Naidu is expected to inaugurate the Business Incubation Center, India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development and unveil a Mahatma Gandhi bust. Several MoUs and agreements will be signed and announcements including LoC projects are also expected to be made.
India shares close, warm and friendly relations with all African countries which are cemented by robust development partnership and a large presence of the Indian Diaspora. The engagement has intensified and there have been 26 outgoing visits to Africa at the level of President, Prime Minister and Vice President in the last four years. Africa has been accorded the top priority in India’s Foreign Policy. The visit of Vice President to Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi will further strengthen relations with these African countries.
