EAM Jaishankar to visit South Africa Namibia from June 1 to 6

EAM Jaishankar is scheduled to visit South Africa, Namibia from June 1 to 6
New Delhi, May 31 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Jaishankar will leave for South Africa from Thursday on a three-day visit to attend the five-nation BRICS summit in Cape Town.
From South Africa, he will visit Namibia from June 4 to 6, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
“The External Affairs Minister will visit South Africa from June 1 to 3 to participate in the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Cape Town,” the MEA said in a statement.
BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) brings together the world’s five largest developing countries, representing 41 percent of the world’s population, 24 percent of global GDP and 16 percent of global trade.

Apart from attending the BRICS meeting in Cape Town, Jaishankar will also hold a bilateral meeting with his South African counterpart, Naledi Bandor.

He is expected to meet the South African president and hold bilateral meetings with other BRICS foreign ministers and participate in the ‘Friends of BRICS’ event.

Jaishankar will also interact with diaspora Indians in Cape Town, the MEA said.

His visit to Namibia is the first by an Indian External Affairs Minister to an African country.

“During the visit the External Affairs Minister will call on the country’s top leadership and will also meet other ministers of the government,” the MEA said.

It said Jaishankar will chair the opening session of the Joint Commission meeting with Namibian Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
He will also interact with Indian diaspora in Namibia.

“The visit of the External Affairs Minister to South Africa and Namibia is expected to further strengthen India’s strong bilateral ties with these two countries,” the MEA said.