Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will visit three key countries -China, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh- in India's neighbourhood beginning Saturday.
Announcing the visits, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Jaishankar will travel to China to attend first round of India-China Strategic Dialogue on February 22. During the dialogue, the two sides will discuss key issues of mutual "concern and interest" including "friction points" such as Masood Azhar and NSG.
The Foreign Secretary will be in Sri Lanka from February 18-20 during which he will interact with the leadership there on possibilities of collaboration and cooperation in a number of sectors including power, highways, airport, hydrocarbon sector, etc. "The visit will continue the tradition of close exchanges with Sri Lanka that has gained momentum in the last two years... The visit would help in taking stock on various decisions taken during the meetings between the two leaderships," he said.
Jaishankar will visit Dhaka on February 23-24 and hold talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Shahidul Haque. The two Foreign Secretaries will review areas of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including high level visits, Swarup said, adding during the visit, Jaishankar is expected to call on the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
