New Delhi: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu arrived in Gabon on Monday on the first leg of his three-nation tour of Gabon, Senegal and Qatar. While Naidu’s visit is 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.
"A special welcome! Vice President @MVenkaiahNaidu was received by Gabonese PM @OssoukaRaponda and FM Michael Moussa-Adamo on his arrival in Libreville, Gabon for the first leg of his 3-country visit," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted Naidu reached Gabon.
The Vice-President's visit is expected to add momentum to India's engagement with Africa and emphasise India’s commitment to the African continent. Naidu embarked on his tour on May 30 and is expected to return on June 7. India's former ambassador to Zimbabwe Jitendra Tripathi said that Africa is strategically important because it provides a sea route to Europe. Secondly, a large number of the Indian diaspora is in Africa, predominantly Gujaratis are living for centuries together. He said that because African countries are developing countries, India is helping them as a 'matter of principle' in its foreign policy.
Jitendra Tripathi pointed out that during the cold war, under a non-aligned movement, many African countries joined India to fight against hegemonic powers. "Africa is also very important for oil because there are a lot of off-shore oil prospects especially when it comes to Angola. Nigeria is also Africa's biggest oil producer. These factors make Africa too important for us, not to overlook it", Tripathi said. Earlier, MEA Secretary, ER Dammu Ravi said that Africa is a priority continent for India. New Delhi and Gabon have close interactions being non-permanent members of the UNSC.
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Naidu 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 several bilateral agreements will be signed with the three countries.
Naidu will begin his tour with Gabon from May 30 to June 1. In Gabon, he will hold delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister of Gabon Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, call on the President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba and meet other dignitaries, the statement from VP's Secretariat said. He is also expected to interact with the business community in Gabon and address the Indian diaspora there.
In Senegal, Naidu will hold delegation-level talks with the President of Senegal Macky Sall and meet the President of the National Assembly Moustapha Niasse and other dignitaries. Notably, 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. The Vice President’s visit to Qatar also gains prominence as India and Qatar prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. During the visit, Naidu will hold delegation-level talks with Qatar's Deputy Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Thani, and review bilateral cooperation. Naidu 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 the 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 contact, with an estimated 7,50,000 Indian diaspora in Qatar at present.
