President Murmu (File – ANI)
NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday departed for a six-day state visit to Angola and Botswana as part of India’s efforts to open up new avenues for collaboration and expanding partnership with the two countries in the African region.This will be the first-ever state visit by an Indian head of state to these countries.In the first leg of her journey, Murmu will reach the Angolan capital of Luanda and hold high-level engagements between November 8 and 11.She will be in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, from November 11 to 13.President Murmu will hold bilateral talks with her Angolan counterpart Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco and attend the 50th anniversary celebrations of the African nation’s independence.She is also scheduled to address the Angolan parliament and interact with members of the Indian community in that country.India and Angola are also celebrating the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year.”India and Angola enjoy very close ties of friendship and cooperation which have been growing across sectors. We have a vibrant energy partnership with Angola,” Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs, said at a press briefing on Thursday. The visit will provide an opportunity to review the entire gamut of bilateral ties and to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, health, energy, trade and investments, technology, infrastructure development, defence and people-to-people connections, he said.In Botswana, President Murmu will meet her counterpart Duma Gideon Boko and also address the national assembly at Gaborone.”We are confident that the visit of Hon’ble Rashtrapatiji will further strengthen India’s long-standing collaborative ties with Angola and Botswana, and open up new avenues for collaboration and expanding our partnership.”It is also, as I said earlier, reflective of India’s firm commitment to further strengthen its multifaceted partnership with the African continent,” the secretary had said.