Modi to embark five nation tour on June 4

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a five nation tour from June 4 that will see him travelling to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico.

Modi will first go to Afghanistan on June 4, where he will visit Herat to inaugurate the Salma Dam that has been funded by India.

He will head to Qatar on June 5 for a bilateral visit where he will hold talks with Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and economic ties, especially the hydrocarbon sector, will be high on the agenda.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Qatar in eight years since the visit of Manmohan Singh to Doha in 2008.

With 630,000, Indians form the largest expatriate community in Qatar.

From Qatar, Modi will head to Switzerland.

"During the visit, the Prime Minister and the President of the Swiss Confederation Johann Schneider-Ammann will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest," an official statement said.

From Switzerland, Modi will travel to the US on June 7 and 8 at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy.

In his last leg of visit, Modi will reach Mexico on June 8 at the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Relations between India and Mexico have witnessed renewed vigour and activity in the last two years and Modi had a substantive bilateral meeting with President Nieto on the sidelines of UNGA.

"The main objective of the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister would be to carry forward the momentum in our bilateral relations and discuss cooperation in areas such as space, energy, agriculture and science and technology among others," the statement said.

The two leaders will also be discussing various multilateral issues during the visit.

--IANS

bns/vd