Vice President Hamid Ansari will undertake a five-day visit to Morocco and Tunisia beginning May 30 as part of efforts to build on diplomatic gains from the India-Africa summit held in October last year.
The Vice President will discuss with leaders in the two North African countries issues of terrorism, UN Security Council expansion and investments in private sector, as well as ways to strengthen outreach to Africa and regional matters.
Ansari will be in Morocco from May 30 to June 1 at the invitation of Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said today, adding the two leaders would jointly launch the India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Rabat.
During the visit, a number of MoUs will be signed in areas like education amd IT, focusing on "capacity building and cultural exchange".
In the second leg of his two-nation tour, Ansari will be visiting Tunisia from June 2 to June 3.
Ansari's visit "will build on diplomatic gains" from the India-Africa summit and "we have chosen these two countries as they are great examples of democracy", Secretary (Economic Relations) in the MEA Amar Sinha told reporters here.
"Hello Africa, Tell me how are you doing?" will be India's motto for the continent, he said, adding there will be a series of visits by Indian leaders to Africa in the coming days.
He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Africa this year.
The King of Morocco had set the ball rolling when he
came here in October, Sinha said, adding the two countries are important for India as it shares economic relations with them.
He said it is the first high-level visit to the African country after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee went there in 1999.
"At the level of Vice President the visit comes after 50 years," he said, noting that it is the 50th year of Independence of Morocco.
The New Delhi Summit - of which Morocco's King Mohammed VI was the first confirmed guest - was the largest political conference in modern history connecting Indian and African leaders.
Both the countries are looking forward towards the visit as they are key partners in food security and fertilizers and investments in private sector.
"Our car and truck manufacturers are looking at prospective markets," he said.
While Morocco's trade with India is "substantial", there is scope for increasing it with Tunisia, Sinha said.
"Morocco is developing destination for Indian film industry," he said, adding MoUs will be signed in education, IT and communication technology sectors.
The visit will help in building the contemporary relationship between these two countries and India.
The visit to Morocco intends to further strengthen the cordial relations between the two countries, develop and diversify profile of bilateral economic cooperation and explore new avenues of co-operation and partnership on a wide range of issues of shared common interest, the MEA said.
The Vice President would hold discussions in Rabat with King Mohammed VI and Prime Minister Benkirane. Speakers of both Houses of Moroccan Parliament and the Minister of Foreign Affairs & Cooperation would call on Ansari, who would also visit the city of Marrakesh where he would be hosted by the Governor.
The Vice President would meet leading intellectuals and Imams of Morocco as well as deliver a talk at Mohammed V University in Rabat.
Members of Indian diaspora would interact with the Vice President in the Moroccan capital.
Ansari will later head to Tunisia for his June 2-3 visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Habib Essid.
India has very cordial bilateral relations with Tunisia. "The economic cooperation between the two countries is deepening with Indian investments in phosphate sector," the MEA said.
During this visit, further avenues of cooperation in various areas of growth would be discussed.
The Vice President would be holding discussions in Tunis with Essid and President Beji Caid Essebsi on a wide range of issues of shared common interest.
He would be received by the President of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People of Tunisia where he would be meeting multi-party Members of Parliament and Tunisian-India Parliamentary Group.
Ansari would deliver a key note address to the Tunisian Diplomatic Corps and leading scholars and think tanks at the Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies.
Besides his wife Salma Ansari, the Vice President would be accompanies by Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, four members of Parliament and senior officials.
