During visit, the Foreign Secretary will review bilateral relations and discuss matters of mutual interest

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is scheduled to take a three-nation European tour from October 29 to November 4, 2020. He will visit France, Germany and the United Kingdom

France, Germany and the UK are strategic partners of India and are nations with which India has close and well-established relations. Bilateral ties are multi-dimensional and have grown rapidly.

During his visit, Foreign Secretary Shringla will review bilateral relations and discuss matters of mutual interest and share Indian perspectives with his counterparts and with other key interlocutors.

He will also interact with businesspersons, academics, intellectuals and media persons in these three countries. The Foreign Secretary will discuss international cooperation in dealing with the ongoing pandemic and its consequences.

India's relations with France, Germany and the UK are built on a foundation of shared democratic values and are informed by a commonality of interest in issues such as sustainable development and climate change.

India has very substantial trade and commercial ties and large investment flows with these countries. India also works closely with these countries in multilateral and plurilateral platforms on various issues.

Indian priorities such as robust and reformed multilateralism, its expanded multilateral and plurilateral engagements including its forthcoming non-permanent tenure in the United Nations Security Council, and its commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific will be discussed.

As per the Ministry of External Affairs, Foreign Secretary Shringla’s visit to these countries is part of India’s continuing international engagement and diplomatic outreach in spite of the limitations posed by the pandemic.