Honourable Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu was on a three-nation visit to Gabon, Senegal and Qatar which started on the 30th of May and concluded on the 5th of June, 2022. This is HVPI Shri Naidu’s first-ever high-level bilateral visit. He was accompanied by a high-profile delegation including Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and three Members of Parliament, Shri Sushil Kumar Modi (Rajya Sabha), Shri Vijay Pal Singh Tomar (Rajya Sabha) and Shri P. Ravindhranath (Lok Sabha).
The President of Gabon, Mr. Ali Bongo Ondimba warmly received HVPI Shri Naidu at the Presidential Palace on his arrival on the 30th of May. Hon’ble Vice President had a high-level talk with Gabon’s Prime Minister H.E. Ms. Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda which included the discussions regarding the bilateral relations between India and Gabon. Multilateral issues of mutual and regional interest were also taken up and both the leaders also discussed “active economic engagement and identified new areas for cooperation, particularly in agriculture, green energy, mining, health and pharma, ICT, defence and maritime security” an MEA report stated. During this visit, India and Gabon signed two MoUs/Agreements:
- MoU for cooperation between India’s SSIFS and Gabon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- An agreement for the establishment of a Joint Commission between two Foreign Ministries
Hon’ble Vice President also announced a special training programme initiative for a batch of 20 diplomats from Gabon at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Services.
Shri Venkaiah Naidu arrived in Senegal on the 1st of June, the second nation in his three-nation visit. Senegalese President Mr. Macky Sall warmly received him at the Presidential Palace. Both leaders, then, discussed active economic and trade engagement and also identified new fields of cooperation, especially in defence, railways, agriculture, energy, health, mining, housing, oil & gas, etc. The need for cooperation in skill development, training and capacity building in key areas was also discussed. Both sides signed three MOUs/Agreements:
- MoU on cooperation in Youth Affairs
- MoU on Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP)
- Visa waiver Agreement for diplomats and officials
During his visit, the Hon’ble Vice President addressed a business event in Senegal which was organised by CII. He announced the Phase-II up-gradation of the Entrepreneurship Development and Technology Centre (CEDT) in Dakar and also announced a special training programme for a batch of 15 Senegalese officials at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Services.
Shri Venkaiah Naidu arrived in Doha, the last leg of his 3-nation visit on the 4th of June. Both sides expressed a strong commitment to enhancing the bilateral trade and investment relations even further. H.H. Father Amir asked HVPI about sectors that would yield more investment opportunities in India. HVPI invited the delegates and the people from Qatar to explore the important opportunities in a varied range of sectors including infrastructure, connectivity both physical as well as digital, defence, energy and hospitality in India. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday, the 5th of June launched the India-Qatar Start-Up Bridge. The Start-Up Bridge is a joint initiative which aims to link the start-up ecosystems of the two countries and mutually help their economies. The joint initiative was launched while M Venkaiah Naidu was addressing the members of the business community at the India-Qatar Business Forum in Qatar. The start-up initiative is expected to strengthen the business sectors mutually. HVPI Shri Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to Qatar is taking place at the time when both sides are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Qatar.
