New Delhi
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit four countries in West Asia from Sunday, before traveling to the US and Belgium to attend important meetings at the United Nations and the European Union.
The Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday that Jaishankar will visit Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman from July 5 to 10 and meet his counterparts and leaders of the four countries.
The ministry said that the visit will focus on strengthening bilateral relations with the four countries and will provide an opportunity to exchange views on regional developments and issues of common interest.
The visit is seen as part of New Delhi’s ongoing outreach to key partners in West Asia that represent important sources of energy and also host large Indian communities. India sought to ensure guaranteed supplies of oil and gas from West Asia to confront the unrest caused by the Iranian-American conflict.
Jaishankar will then travel to New York to officially launch India’s campaign for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council on July 13 for the period 2028-2029.
He will then travel to Brussels to attend the third Ministerial Meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) and interact with his counterparts in the EU and Belgium during July 14-15.
