President Droupadi Murmu reaches Angola as part of two-country state visit

Luanda: President Droupadi Murmu reached Angola on Saturday in the first-leg of her six-day state visit to the African country followed by neighbouring Botswana.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has described the two-nation visit between November 8-13 a part of India's efforts to open up new avenues for collaboration and expanding partnership with the two countries in the African region.

This is the first-ever state visit by an Indian head of state to these countries, as per the MEA.

Murmu was received at the international airport in the Angolan capital of Luanda by the country's Minister of External Relations Tete Antonio apart from other senior officials from both the countries.

During the next three days here, the president will hold high-level engagements, including bilateral talks with her Angolan counterpart Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco and also attend the 50th anniversary celebrations of the African nation's independence.

The president is also scheduled to address the Angolan parliament and interact with members of the Indian community.

"India and Angola enjoy very close ties of friendship and cooperation which have been growing across sectors. We have a vibrant energy partnership with Angola," Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the MEA, said at a press briefing on Thursday.

The visit will provide an opportunity to review the entire gamut of bilateral ties and to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, health, energy, trade and investments, technology, infrastructure development, defence and people-to-people connections, he said.

The secretary also said that the visit was "significant" even as the two countries are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year.

Murmu, on November 11, will start the second leg of her visit and travel to Botswana's capital Gaborone.

As part of her engagements there, she will meet her counterpart Duma Gideon Boko, address the national assembly and attend an event related to translocation of cheetahs to India as part of Project Cheetah.

"We are confident that the visit of Hon'ble Rashtrapatiji will further strengthen India's long-standing collaborative ties with Angola and Botswana, and open up new avenues for collaboration and expanding our partnership.

"It is also, as I said earlier, reflective of India's firm commitment to further strengthen its multifaceted partnership with the African continent," the secretary had said.

Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V Somanna and Lok Sabha MPs Prabhubhai Vasava and D K Aruna are accompanying the president on this trip.