New Delhi, 17 September (H.S.): Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of

State for External Affairs and Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoS)

visited Armenia and Malaysia.

The visit to Armenia was to attend

the inaugural Yerevan Dialogue, a Track 1.5 event with participation of

ministers, diplomats, think-tanks and academicians, organised jointly by the

Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indian think-tank Observer

Research Foundation (ORF).

MoS attended the inaugural session of the Yerevan

Dialogue and addressed the session on Climate Security in the Era of

Uncertainty”.

He also delivered the introductory remarks and

highlighted the fascinating historical relationship between India and Armenia

at the Armenia in India – India in Armenia” conference celebrating four

centuries long ties between the two countries.

MoS held bilateral meetings with

Armenian Deputy Prime Minister, Mher Grigoryan and Minister of Foreign

Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan. The entire gamut of bilateral relations was

discussed including perspectives for the future. Both sides reiterated their

resolve to further strengthen and deepen the growing bilateral ties.

MoS addressed and interacted with the

Indian Community. As a part of #Plant4Mother campaign, he planted a sapling in

front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Buenos Aires Park in Yerevan and

paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation.

In Malaysia, MoS held bilateral

meeting with Datuk Mohamad bin Alamin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

of Malaysia; met with Senator Saraswathy Kandasami, Deputy Minister of

National Unity of Malaysia and Kula Segaran, Deputy Minister in Prime

Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) and discussed avenues for

further intensifying India- Malaysia bilateral cooperation under the

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established during the recent State Visit

of Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim to India.

MoS inaugurated the second edition of

Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Day ‘Apravasi Diwas’ Celebrations at Malaysia

and the 15th Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)

International Convention. In his keynote address, he welcomed the contributions

of the PIO community to Malaysia as well as to India-Malaysia bilateral ties

and urged them to continue to play a constructive role in strengthening the

partnership between both countries.

In addition, MoS held interactions

with prominent Indian diaspora associations including GOPIO International and

GOPIO Malaysia; captains of industry and business associations including

Consortium of Indian Industries in Malaysia (CIIM) and Malaysia India Business

Council (MIBC); Indian culture associations, Indian professionals and workers

based in Malaysia.

MoS officiated the operationalization

of Ayurveda Chair at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Kuala Lumpur and the

signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Agreement for establishment of the

Thiruvalluvar Chair of Indian Studies in Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He

also interacted with Indian students during the signing ceremony.

MoS visited the iconic Torana Gate at

Little India, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his

visit to Malaysia in 2015 and Ramakrishna Mission where he offered floral

tributes to statue of the Swami Vivekananda. He also planted a sapling at the

new Chancery project site as part of the ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam’ campaign.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Nimish kumar