New Delhi/UNI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on an official visit to Guyana (April 21-23), Panama (April 24-25), Colombia (April 25-27) and the Dominican Republic (April 27-29).

This will be his first visit to these countries as EAM, and will help add to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements.

In Guyana, EAM will be calling on the leadership and interacting with several Ministers.

He will be co-chairing the Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, Hugh Hilton Todd that will entail discussions on the whole gamut of issues between the two countries.

EAM’s visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of Foreign Ministers in the India-COFCOR (Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR); a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM)) format and hold bilateral meetings with participating Ministers, an official statement said.

In Panama, EAM will be calling on the top leadership and will be hosted by Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo.

During this visit, the India-SICA Foreign Ministerial Meeting will also be convened wherein he would meet representatives of the eight-country Central American Integration System (SICA).

EAM’s Colombia visit would be a first Foreign Ministerial level visit to the country. He would be meeting several top representatives of the Government, business and civil society. Foreign Minister of Colombia Alvaro Leyva Duran and EAM would review the bilateral ties.

The visit to the Dominican Republic is the highest level visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1999.

EAM’s visit takes place after the establishment of our resident Embassy in Santo Domingo in 2022.

Apart from calling on the country’s political leadership, EAM will be holding discussions with Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez.

The two leaders would also formally inaugurate the Indian resident mission. EAM is also expected to deliver a talk at the Dominican Republic Foreign Ministry.

A business delegation from India, led by CII will be joining EAM at business events that are planned during the course of the visit.

These meetings underline the growing interest on both sides for stronger trade ties. EAM will also be meeting members of the Indian community in all four countries.

EAM’s visit to these four countries, his bilateral engagements as well as interactions with counterparts of important regional groups, CARICOM and SICA, adds to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements.

It will provide an opportunity to continue high level contacts with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas, particularly in the post pandemic scenario, the statement added.