External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on a two-nation tour of South Africa and Namibia from Thursday, June 1. Jaishankar will first visit South Africa from Thursday to Saturday, where he will participate in the BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting to be held in Cape Town, official sources said. Besides attending the meeting, he will also hold a bilateral meeting with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor.
Jaishankar will also call on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and is expected to hold bilateral meetings with other BRICS Foreign Ministers and participating 'Friends of BRICS' Ministers from other countries. He will also have an interaction with the Indian diaspora in Cape Town.
Jaishankar will then proceed to Namibia, where he will be from June 4 to 6. This will be the first visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister to Namibia. During the visit, he will call on the top leadership of the country and also meet with other ministers of the government, sources informed. Jaishankar will also co-chair the inaugural session of the joint commission meeting with the Namibian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. He will also interact with the Indian diaspora.
Jaishankar's visit to South Africa and Namibia is expected to further strengthen India's bilateral relations with these two countries, the official sources said.