MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh to visit Zambia to chair Joint Permanent Commission meet

New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) India and Zambia will revive their Joint Permanent Commission, which last met in New Delhi nearly two decades back, with Minister of State for External Affairs and Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh set to make an official visit to the African country.

During the visit (November 4 to November 7), the MoS will co-chair the 6th Session of the India-Zambia Joint Permanent Commission with Zambia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mulambo Haimbe on November 6 to review all aspects of bilateral relations, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday.

The 5th Session of the Joint Permanent Commission was held in 2005 in New Delhi, while the last visit by a Minister of State for External Affairs to Zambia was in October 2019 to inaugurate the CII Exim Bank Southern Africa Regional Conclave in Lusaka.

Ahead of the JPC, senior officials held a virtual meeting to prepare the ground for the meeting.

The meeting was co-chaired by Zambia's Permanent Secretary, International Relations & Cooperation, Etambuyu Anamela Gundersen, and Joint Secretary (East and Southern Africa) in the MEA, Mayank Singh.

During the visit, the Indian minister will also hold discussions with senior leadership of the Zambian government.

He will also participate in an India-Zambia Business Round Table Conference to promote trade and investment between the two countries, the MEA said.

The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $448.39 million in 2023-24. India is one of the leading investors in Zambia with a pledged investment of over $5 billion.

The Minister will also interact with the Indian community in Lusaka. Zambia has a large and vibrant Indian community which numbers around 30,000, the ministry said.

India and Zambia are commemorating 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the visit of MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh would pave the way for further enhancing India-Zambia bilateral relations, it added.

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