Vice President embarks on a three-nation "historic" tour to Gabon, Senegal and Qatar

New Delhi, May 30: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday embarked on a three-nation tour of Gabon, Senegal and Qatar from 30 May to 7 June 2022. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, and three Members of Parliament, Sushil Kumar Modi (Rajya Sabha), Vijay Pal Singh Tomar (Rajya Sabha), and P. Ravindranath (Lok Sabha). It is expected that a number of bilateral documents will be concluded with the three countries.

 

While Naidu’s visit will be the first by any Vice President to all the three countries, the visit marks the first-ever high level visit from India to Gabon and Senegal. His visit is expected to add momentum to India's engagement with Africa and emphasise India’s commitment to the African continent.

The Vice President’s visit to Qatar gains prominence as the two countries prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The visit is expected to further boost the bilateral ties between the countries. Naidu will begin his tour with Gabon from 30 May to 01 June 2022. In Gabon, he will hold delegation level talks with the PM of Gabon Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, call on the President of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba and meet other dignitaries. He is also expected to interact with the business community in Gabon and address the Indian diaspora there.

Naidu will visit Senegal from 1-3 June and will hold delegation-level talks with the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, meet the President of the National Assembly, Moustapha Niasse, and other dignitaries. It is notable that India and Senegal are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. The Vice President is also expected to attend a business roundtable and address the Indian community.

The last leg of the tour will be the visit to Qatar from 4-7 June 2022. During the visit, he will hold delegation-level talks with Qatar's Deputy Amir, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Thani, and review bilateral cooperation. He will also meet several other Qatari dignitaries during this visit and address a business roundtable in Qatar. It is noteworthy that Qatar has committed investments of over US$ 2 billion in various Indian companies over the past two years.

On a penultimate day, a community reception is being held marking the Vice President's visit, where he will address the members of the Indian community in Qatar. India and Qatar have a long history of people-to-people contacts, with an estimated 750,000 Indian diaspora in Qatar at present.