New Delhi:
President Pratibha Patil on Sunday left on an official tour to Seychelles and South Africa, a visit expected to further boost India's friendly ties with the two African countries.
The president was given a warm send off by Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Secretary R K Singh, Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and representatives from the South Africa and Seychelles Embassies among others.
Ms Patil, possibly on her last foreign visit before she retires on July 25, will reach Seychelles in the first leg of her tour. She would be in South Africa from May 1 to 7.
India's ties with South Africa are enjoined by a strategic partnership.
This will be the second presidential visit to Seychelles, the strategically located island in the Indian Ocean, after that of President R Venkataraman in 1989.
In Seychelles, Ms Patil will have a meeting her counterpart James Alix Michel during which various aspects of bilateral relations and regional and international issues are expected to be discussed.
A highlight of the Seychelles visit is that the president will address the Special Session of the National Assembly.
Ms Patil's visit to South Africa is another indication of New Delhi's growing ties with Pretoria. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited the country in October last year for the IBSA Summit.
South Africa President Jacob Zuma was in New Delhi last month for the BRICS Summit and had paid a state visit to India in June 2010 in what was then his first bilateral visit to any Asian country.
A business delegation, that will address the India-South Africa Business Forum meet, is also accompanying Ms Patil. Trade between India and South Africa was pegged at over
US $11 billion in 2010-11, of which imports were more than seven billion and exports around four billion.
The trade turnover target has been revised to US $5 billion by 2014.
The president was given a warm send off by Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Secretary R K Singh, Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and representatives from the South Africa and Seychelles Embassies among others.
Ms Patil, possibly on her last foreign visit before she retires on July 25, will reach Seychelles in the first leg of her tour. She would be in South Africa from May 1 to 7.
India's ties with South Africa are enjoined by a strategic partnership.
This will be the second presidential visit to Seychelles, the strategically located island in the Indian Ocean, after that of President R Venkataraman in 1989.
In Seychelles, Ms Patil will have a meeting her counterpart James Alix Michel during which various aspects of bilateral relations and regional and international issues are expected to be discussed.
A highlight of the Seychelles visit is that the president will address the Special Session of the National Assembly.
Ms Patil's visit to South Africa is another indication of New Delhi's growing ties with Pretoria. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited the country in October last year for the IBSA Summit.
South Africa President Jacob Zuma was in New Delhi last month for the BRICS Summit and had paid a state visit to India in June 2010 in what was then his first bilateral visit to any Asian country.
A business delegation, that will address the India-South Africa Business Forum meet, is also accompanying Ms Patil. Trade between India and South Africa was pegged at over
US $11 billion in 2010-11, of which imports were more than seven billion and exports around four billion.
The trade turnover target has been revised to US $5 billion by 2014.
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