Sources say that the two-day trip could take place this week and would include heads of mission of various countries, including the European nations.

The Modi government is organising a second trip for a delegation of 25 foreign envoys to Jammu and Kashmir later this week as a part of its ongoing efforts to apprise the international community of the situation on the ground.

Sources say that the two-day trip could take place this week and would include heads of mission of various countries, including the European nations.

India Today TV has learnt that the Ambassador of the European Union To India, Ugo Astuto, could also be a part of the delegation. While the Indian side was planning to take a separate delegation of the EU to the Valley, there were differences in the rules of engagement.

The EU had also skipped the trip last month where 15 envoys from various regional blocs, including the US envoy, had visited Jammu and Kashmir.

Not as a stand-alone EU delegation, but the EU ambassador himself going on the trip is a very important development. This comes ahead of the EU-India summit to be held next month in Brussels which would be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The context of the EU ambassador being part of the delegation is important since India has faced some tough resolutions in the EU parliament recently on Citizenship (Amendment) Act where references were drawn to the situation in Kashmir as well. Although, India’s diplomatic corps managed to push the voting on the resolutions to March 31.

The EU is a significant trade partner for India. While the two sides are negotiating a trade deal, the EU is India's largest trading partner and India is the EU's ninth-largest trading partner.

Some other envoys who are part of the 25-member delegation are Germany, Qatar and Afghanistan.
There has been a continued call to lift communication restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir completely and release the political detainees.

Since the abrogation of certain provisions of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, there has been removal of certain restrictions and limited easing of communication.

Courtesy: India Today