President Droupadi Murmu will embark on a six day visit to Angola and Botswana from 8th of this month. This will be the first visit by any Indian Head of State to these countries. Briefing media in New Delhi this evening, Secretary (ER), Ministry of External Affairs, Sudhakar Dalela informed that in the first leg of her tour, President Murmu will be visiting Angola from 8th to 11th November. President Murmu will be holding bilateral talks with her counterpart and attend 50th anniversary celebrations of Angola’s Independence on 11th November. She will also address the Angolan Parliament. Mr Dalela said, India and Angola are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. He added that India has a vibrant energy partnership with Angola and President of Angola is currently the Chairperson of the African Union.
Secretary (ER) said that on the second leg of her visit, President Murmu will be visiting Botswana from 11th to 13th November. She will hold bilateral talks with President of Botswana and discuss and explore new avenues for enhancing bilateral cooperation. The President will also address the National Assembly and visit sites of cultural and historical importance.
Our correspondent reports that India’s engagement with Africa has been growing across all key pillars from political to trade and economic to development partnership and people to people connections. There have been numerous high level political developments at the level of Head of State, Head of Government, Vice President, External Affairs Minister. These engagements have allowed the deepening of cooperation with the African region across sectors. India’s engagement with Africa is guided by principles outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 while addressing the Parliament of Uganda. India’s diplomatic footprint has expanded significantly in the recent years with the opening of 17 new Missions in Africa. India’s growing engagement with the African continent is also in consonance with government’s priority for strengthening partnership with countries in the Global South. Trade with African region is reaching almost 100 billion dollars.
