Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V. Muraleedharan undertook an official visit to the Republic of the Gambia and to the Republic of Senegal from 1-5 November 2021. It was his 1st visit to both the countries.
Visit to Gambia:
i.V.Muraleedharan visited Gambia for 3 days from 1-2 November 2021 and during his visit he released the design of a commemorative stamp marking 75 years of India’s Independence.
ii.MoS has announced the repurposing of a US$ 500,000 grant for procuring dialysis machines for the West African nation.
iii.MoS signed 2 Agreements i.e. one on Exemption from Visa requirement for Holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports and a General Framework Agreement for Cooperation between India and Gambia.
iv.The MoS had a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Gambia, Mamadou Tangara, Speaker of the National Assembly, Mariam Jack-Denton, and Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Badara Joof.
v.He also visited the National Assembly Building Complex of the Gambia in Banjul, which is one of the landmark projects in West Africa built under an Indian Line of Credit.
Visit to Senegal:
i.The MoS visited Senegal from 4-5 November 2021, and Co-Chaired the 3rd India-Senegal Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Senegal, Aissata Tall Sall.
ii.India and Senegal signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Health and Medicine in Dakar and both sides celebrated the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.
iii.The MoU will create collaboration in Disease Surveillance, Medical Research, Drugs and Pharma, medical equipment & Traditional Medicine.
Note – MoS also called on the President of the Republic of Senegal, H.E. Macky Sall and President of the Republic of the Gambia, H.E. Adama Barrow.
Recent Related News:
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar made a 5-day official visit to Israel from 17- 21 October 2021 to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. This was S Jaishankar’s 1st visit to Israel as EAM.
About Ministry of External Affairs:
Union Minister – Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Constituency – Gujarat)
Minister of State (MoS) – V Muraleedharan (Constituency – Maharashtra), Meenakashi Lekhi (Constituency – New Delhi, Delhi)
