President Kovind to visit Turkmenistan, Netherlands from April 1-7

President Ram Nath Kovind will be on a week-long visit to Turkmenistan and the Netherlands starting April 1 during which he would hold talks with the leadership of those countries to strengthen bilateral ties.

At the invitation of the President of Turkmenistan, President Kovind will pay a state visit to Turkmenistan from April 1-4, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

This will be the first-ever visit of the President of India to independent Turkmenistan and comes just after the inauguration of the new TUrkmen President, Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

During the visit, Kovind will meet the new Turkmen President to discuss various issues of bilateral and regional cooperation, including implementation of the outcomes of the India-Central Asia Summit held in January 2022, the MEA said.

Some agreements or MoUs are also expected to be signed during the visit, it said.

The visit to Turkmenistan will be followed by a state visit to the Kingdom of Netherlands from April 4-7 at the invitation of King WillemAlexander and Queen Maxima.

During the visit to the Netherlands, President Kovind will hold discussions with the Majesties and Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

The upcoming visit is significant as during 2022, India and the Netherlands are celebrating 75 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the MEA noted.

In 2021, during the virtual summit held between the Prime Ministers of the two countries, a strategic partnership on water was launched to enhance the level of engagement between the two sides in this important sector.

Cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, health, urban development, science and technology are other important pillars of the bilateral relationship, the MEA said.

The Netherlands is also an important economic and commercial partner of India with the country being India's fourth largest FDI source. It also hosts the largest Indian diaspora in continental Europe.