President Murmu to visit Suriname, Kosovo from June 4 to 9

President Droupadi Murmu will make a six-day official visit to Suriname and Serbia starting on Sunday in an effort to bolster India’s bilateral relations with the two countries.

Murmu will go to the South American country of Suriname first from June 4 to 6 following which she will travel to Europe to visit Kosovo June 7 to 9.

Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, “The President will be in Suriname on a state visit from June 4 to 6 at the invitation of President of Suriname Chan Santokhi. This will be her maiden state visit after she assumed the office of the President.”

“The visit assumes historical significance as the President will be the chief guest at the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the arrival of Indians in Suriname,” he added.

The president will be accompanied by Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister and Rama Devi, a Lok Sabha member of Parliament during her trip.

In Suriname, President Murmu will hold talks with her counterpart Santokhi. The two leaders will participate in a number of activities to commemorate the arrival of Indians in the country.

Interestingly, Murmu’s visit to Suriname comes exactly six months after Santokhi visited India.

Kumar said the Indian community in Suriname acts as the “living bridge” between the two countries.

He said the visit will add fresh momentum to India-Suriname ties.

Disturbances in Kosovo will not affect visit

President Murmu will mark her first-ever visit to Europe by going to Kosovo at the invitation of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Verma said a 20-member business delegation will arrive separately in Serbia from India for the visit and it will include delegates from industry chambers CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM.

“We have warm, friendly and close cooperation with Serbia. Our understanding at multilateral fora and on several issues of global importance has been similar,” he said.

Asked about the recent disturbances in Kosovo and whether the Indian side is concerned over it in view of the visit by the President, Verma said there were no such concerns.

“We are aware of the recent disturbances in Kosovo which is at the extreme southern tip of Serbia. We have no reason at this point of time to be concerned that those incidents would have any consequence on the state visit of my President nor have we been suggested otherwise by the host,” he said.

“On the matter of Kosovo, our stand has been quite clear and consistent that we do not recognise the declaration of Independence by Kosovo. We, however, also believe that any differences need to be resolved peacefully through talks,” he added.

With inputs from PTI

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