Pres Kovind's Djibouti visit: Agreements on fostering and promoting economic relations expected

Press Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind said India is expecting a couple of agreements on fostering and promoting economic relations with Djibouti.

"One of the agreements expected tomorrow is to institute formal foreign office level talks, through which, Indian diplomats will regularly visit Djibouti and their diplomats will visit New Delhi to meet MEA officials," he said here on Tuesday.

"We are also expecting a couple of agreements on fostering and promoting economic relations," added Press Secretary Ashok Malik.

Emphasising on the strategical importance of Djibouti, Malik further said, "Djibouti is a strategically important country. Our economic relations with them are growing."

India doesn't have a formal embassy in Djibouti yet, Indian ambassador in Ethiopia is currently accredited to Djibouti as well.

Malik also mentioned that Djibouti played an important role in rescuing 5000 Indian nationals from war torn Yemen in 2015.

"Djibouti helped India to rescue 5000 Indians from Yemen; they gave us one airstrip to use. Relations between both the nations have gone deep since then," Malik said.

Malik said that the purpose of coming here is not only agreements, but also taking the relations forward with Djibouti.

President Ramnath Kovind has arrived here on Tuesday.

He is on a four-day state visit to Djibouti and Ethiopia.

This visit is Kovind's maiden foreign trip as President and strategically very important as the country is very close to Gulf of Athens in Indian Ocean.

The visit also marks the first by an Indian President ever to Djibouti and will be the second to Ethiopia after then President V V Giri's trip in 1972.

Indian government's focus on Africa has enhanced since the third Indo-African Summit in Delhi in 2015, which saw participation of more than 40 heads of states and governments from Africa.