President Kovind to visit Greece, Suriname, Cuba
New Delhi, June 12: President Ram Nath Kovind will embark on an eight-day, three-nation tour from June 16 that will see him going to Greece, Suriname and Cuba, it was announced on Tuesday.
Briefing the media here, Subrata Bhattacharjee, Joint Secretary, Central Europe, in the External Affairs Ministry, said that Kovind will reach Greece on June 16 at the invitation of Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulus.
He will hold a meeting with Pavlopoulus as well as with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Leader of the Opposition Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Kovind will also meet Indian and Greek CEOs and deliver a speech on "India and Europe in a Changing World" at the Hellenic Foundation for Europe and Foreign Policy, a leading Greek think tank.
According to Bhattacharjee, India-Greece bilateral trade stands at $530 million and some Indian companies are also present in the infrastructure, pharmaceutical and steel sectors in that central European nation.
With Greece being home to a 12,000-strong Indian diaspora, Kovind will also interact with members of the community.
From Greece, Kovind will leave for Suriname on June 19 in what will be the first ever visit by an Indian head of state to the South American nation.
Partha Satpathy, Joint Secretary (Latin America and Caribbean), said that Kovind's visits to Suriname and Cuba are a reflection of New Delhi giving more importance from this year to ties with Latin America.
Last month, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu visited Guatemala, Panama and Peru.
While in Suriname at the invitation of President Desi Bouterse, following official talks, some agreements are expected to be signed, including on health and information technology. India will offer some lines of credit as part of development assistance.
With 37 per cent of Suriname's population being people of Indian origin, Kovind will also lay the foundation of a Vivekananda Cultural Centre.
Most of these Indian-origin people are descendants of indentured labour brought to work in sugarcane plantations, the first batch of whom arrived in 1873.
On June 21, Kovind will participate in activities as part of the International Yoga Day.
From Suriname, he and his delegation will leave for Cuba which again will be the first ever presidential visit from India to the Caribbean island country.
Satpathy said that both India and Cuba are important partners in the global South-South cooperation.
He said that Kovind will interact with Cuba's new leadership under President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Four agreements are expected to be signed, including in the areas of biotechnology and traditional and alternative systems of medicine.
Kovind will conclude his visit on June 23.
According to Press Secretary to the President Ashok Malik, this will be Kovind's fourth and last foreign visit in the first year of his presidency. In all, he will have visited 10 countries.
During the visit, the President will be accompanied by Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai, two members of the Lok Sabha, Dinesh Kashyap and Nityanand Rai, and senior officials.
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Russia always ready to supply crude oil to India: Envoy
New Delhi (PTI): Russia has always been open to supplying crude oil to India, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said on Thursday, amid increasing concerns over spiralling prices of petroleum products in view of the West Asia crisis.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
India imports 88 per cent of its crude oil needs and roughly half of its natural gas requirement. These mostly come via the Strait of Hormuz.
Any prolonged instability in West Asia is set to be detrimental to India's national interests as the region remains a major source of New Delhi's energy security.
"We have been open to supplying crude oil to India," Alipov told reporters while responding to a question on Russian crude oil supplies to India in view of the West Asia crisis.
The US launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
In the last three days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both the sides.
India's procurement of crude oil from Russia has seen sharp fall in the last few weeks.
US President Donald Trump, while announcing a trade deal with New Delhi last month, claimed India has agree to not procure crude oil from Russia.
In an executive order, Trump had rolled back an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India that he imposed in August last for India's procurement of crude oil from Russia.
In the order, the US said it would monitor whether India resumed Russian oil purchases directly or indirectly and that would determine whether a 25 per cent tariff would again be re-impose.
India has been maintaining that it will procure oil from multiple sources and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the "guiding factor" for the procurement.
