MoS for External Affairs Muraleedharan to embark on 2-day visit to Syria

New Delhi, July 11 In what would be the first ministerial level visit from India to Syria in seven years, Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan will embark on an official visit to the west Asian nation from July 12-13.

Official sources said that this will be the first ministerial-level visit from India to Syria since August 2016, and the first visit of Muraleedharan to the country.

During the visit, Muraleedharan is likely to meet the Syrian leadership in the capital Damascus for wide-ranging discussions.

He will also interact with a group of Syrian students who have studied or are proceeding to study in India under the Indian government's scholarship scheme.

Muraleedharan is also expected to meet functionaries of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

India and Syria have traditionally enjoyed warm and friendly relations based on deep-rooted people-to-people ties.

India has maintained its embassy in Syria all along the course of conflict in Syria.

A large number of students, businessmen and patients travel to India.

India has contributed immensely to the capacity building of the Syrian youth over the years through scholarship schemes and training courses, sources informed further.

This visit is expected to lend further momentum to the strong relationship between the two countries, they said.