External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will begin a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic on Friday to explore bilateral engagement in new areas. This will be his first visit to these countries as EAM, mentioned an official release from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Jaishankar will visit Guyana from April 21-23, Panama from April 24-25, Colombia from April 25-27 and Dominican Republic from April 27-29.
Guyana
According to MEA press release, in Guyana, EAM will be calling on the leadership and interacting with several Ministers. He will be co-chairing the Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, H.E. Mr. Hugh Hilton Todd that will entail discussions on the whole gamut of issues between the two countries. As per MEA release, EAM’s visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of Foreign Ministers in the India-COFCOR (Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR); a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM)) format and hold bilateral meetings with participating Ministers.
Panama
Dr. S Jaishankar will be calling on top leadership in Panama and would be hosted by Foreign Minister H.E. Ms. Janaina Tewaney Mencomo. During this visit, the release added, the India-SICA Foreign Ministerial Meeting will also be convened wherein he would meet representatives of the 8-country Central American Integration System (SICA).
Colombia
Notably, EAM’s Colombia visit would be the first Foreign Ministerial level visit to the country. He would be meeting several top representatives of the Government, business and civil society, the release said, adding that Foreign Minister of Colombia H.E. Mr. Alvaro Leyva Duran and EAM would review the bilateral ties.
Dominican Republic
As per the MEA statement, the visit to the Dominican Republic by EAM Jaishankar is the highest-level visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1999. It added that EAM’s visit takes place after the establishment of our resident Embassy in Santo Domingo in 2022. Apart from calling on the country’s political leadership, EAM will be holding discussions with Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez. The two leaders would also formally inaugurate the Indian resident mission. EAM is also expected to deliver a talk at the Dominican Republic Foreign Ministry.
EAM Jaishankar will be joined by a business delegation from India, led by CII at business events that are planned during the course of the visit. EAM will also be meeting members of the Indian community in all four countries.
The release concluded, “EAM’s visit to these four countries; his bilateral engagements as well as interactions with counterparts of important regional groups: CARICOM and SICA, adds to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements. It will provide an opportunity to continue high level contacts with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas; particularly in the post-pandemic scenario.”