DUSHANBE, June 29, 2012, Asia-Plus — Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna will arrive in Tajikistan on July 2 on a two-day working visit, a well-informed source in the Tajik government told Asia-Plus Friday afternoon.
During his stay in Tajikistan, Indian minister is scheduled to hold talks with President Emomali Rahmon and Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, the source said, noting that state and prospects of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and India in sectors like energy and security as well as issues related to the current situation in the region will be the focus of the talks.
Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, generally referred to as S. M. Krishna, is an Indian politician who has served in the government of India as Minister of External Affairs since 2009. A member of the Indian Parliament from Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, Krishna was the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008.
The External Affairs Minister or the Indian Foreign Minister is a position of office at cabinet level within the Government of India. The chief responsibility of the External Affairs Minister is to represent India and its government in the international community. The minister heads the “Ministry of External Affairs.” Occasionally, a junior minister designated to the post of Minister of State for External Affairs assists the External Affairs Minister. In some cases, there have been Deputy External Affairs Ministers at a secondary level.
Meanwhile, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on June 26 that External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna is also scheduled to have a meeting of Indian Heads of Mission of 11 countries.
PTI quoted official spokesperson in MEA as saying that he will also address a Regional Conference of Indian Ambassadors in the Eurasian Region and this includes Indian Ambassadors to eleven countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, he said.
This is the Sixth Regional Meeting of Heads of Mission that the External Affairs Minister is addressing.
“Given the growing strategic importance of the Eurasia Region including Central Asia in our foreign policy, the Minister is expected to outline India’s policy priorities in this region. This policy aims at greater political, economic and people-to-people engagement with the countries of the region, both bilaterally and collectively,” the spokesperson said.
