EAM Jaishankar embarks on 4-day visit to Qatar, Bahrain

New Delhi, Dec 6 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday embarked on a four-day visit to Qatar and Bahrain with an aim to explore ways to further expand India's bilateral ties with the two influential countries in West Asia.

In the first leg of the trip, Jaishankar is visiting Qatar on December 6 and 7 primarily to participate in the Doha Forum at the invitation of Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

From Doha, the external affairs minister will travel to Bahrain for a two-day visit, an official readout said.

He will co-chair the fourth India-Bahrain High Joint Commission (HJC) with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

"This ministerial meeting will review the entire gamut of the bilateral relations and discuss avenues to further strengthen the multifaceted ties between India and Bahrain," the readout issued by the external affairs ministry said.

Jaishankar will also participate in the 20th edition of the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on December 8.

The theme of this year's Manama Dialogue is "Middle East leadership in shaping regional prosperity and security". PTI MPB IJT IJT