MoS Col. Rajyavardhan calls on President of Zimbabwe as Special Envoy

As a Special Envoy of Hon’ble Prime Minister , Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, called on Mr. Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe at Harare. Col. Rathore to personally extend the invitation on behalf of Hon’ble PM requesting President Mugabe for attending the Third India Africa Forum Summit to be held in October in New Delhi. While accepting the invitation, President Mugabe stated that he hoped the Hon’ble Prime Minister would visit Zimbabwe in the near future. Earlier the Minister also met the Foreign Affairs Minister, Republic of Zimbabwe, Mr. Simbarashe S. Mumbengegwi and invited him on behalf of the External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj.

Speaking after the meetings, Col. Rathore mentioned that this year’s summit would be historic as India had taken the lead to invite leaders of all African nations with whom it had long cherished ties. Emphasizing the importance of India Africa engagement the minister said, that our friendship with African nations goes back a long way. India and Africa emerged from a similar colonial past and shared similar concerns of sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.

Elaborating further the minister said that both India and Africa shared common views and concerns on issues of mutual interest that had regional and global connotations. These concerned issues related to Global Governance, Climate Change, WTO, Bretton Woods Institutions, etc.

During his discussion the minister also added that in recent years India had played a critical role in forging partnerships with the African continent focusing on issues that empowered the region. These included support to African countries through Scholarships, Training, Capacity Building efforts and Developmental Assistance. Lines of credit and grants have also been extended to African Nations. The commitment and efforts had substantially strengthened the South-South Cooperation between the region and India.

The Third India Africa Forum Summit level meeting will be held on 29th October 2015 and will be preceded by a Foreign Minister’s meeting on 27th October and Senior Officers meeting on 26th October, 2015.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.