External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on a two day visit. He thanked Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs Abdulmajeed Al Smari for the warm reception in Riyadh. During the two-day visit, Dr Jaishankar will take part in the First India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. He is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers from GCC member countries.

The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors.

On the second leg of the visit, Dr Jaishankar will travel to Berlin, Germany for a two-day visit from Tuesday. This will be his third bilateral visit to Berlin. Both India and Germany share a robust Strategic Partnership and Germany is one of India’s prominent trading partners and among the largest Foreign Direct Investors. During the visit, the External Affairs Minister will meet German Federal Foreign Minister as well as the leadership and other Ministers from the German government with an objective to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations between India and Germany.

Dr Jaishankar will thereafter travel to Geneva, Switzerland for an official visit from 12th of this month. Geneva is home to a large number of UN bodies and international organizations. During the visit, the External Affairs Minister will meet with heads and representatives of international organizations with whom India is actively engaged. He will also meet Swiss Foreign Minister to review the close partnership between the two countries and explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further.