King of Jordan to visit India

King of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, accompanied by a business delegation, will come on a three-day visit to India starting on Tuesday, the External Affairs Ministry announced on Monday.

This will be his second visit to India after his visit along with Queen Rania in 2006.

According to an External Affairs Ministry statement, King Abdullah will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra during the course of which the two sides will discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The two sides are expected to sign a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and agreements in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation.

President Ram Nath Kovind will host a banquet in honour of King Abdullah while Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will call on the visiting dignitary.

On Wednesday, the King will visit IIT Delhi to explore collaboration with Jordan technical institutes.

During the day, the King will also participate in a CEO Round-table followed by India-Jordan Business Forum jointly organised by Industry bodies Ficci, CII and Assocham.

India-Jordan trade stood at $1.35 billion in 2016-17, according to figures provided by the External Affairs Ministry.

On Thursday, the King will deliver a special address on "Promoting Understanding and Moderation", organised by the India Islamic Centre at Vigyan Bhawan.

Earlier this month, King Abdullah hosted Modi at his residence in Amman. Jordan had facilitated Modi's transit to Palestine in what was the first ever prime ministerial visit from India to that West Asian nation.

--IANS

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