New Delhi, Sep 17 (Representative ) Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh visited Armenia and Malaysia from September 9-15 during which he met the leadership of the respective countries, interacted with the diaspora and attended several events. His visit to Armenia Sep 9–11, 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, a statement said. 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 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 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, the statement saidIn 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 the statue of Swami Vivekananda. He also planted a sapling at the new Chancery project site as part of the ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam’ campaign, the statement added.