Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki received India’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Velamveli Muraledharan on September 15 in Asmara’s Denden Complex in what the Eritrean Ministry of Information described as a cordial visit with a country that President Afwerki described as a “genuine friend of Eritrea.”
Minister Muraledharan also met with his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh, with whom he and his delegation staff discussed bilateral cooperation and growth opportunities in the energy, health, education and agriculture sectors (https://theprint.in/world/mos-v-muraleedharan-arrives-in-eritrea-to-give-new-momentum-to-relations/1128974/).
On the same day, India announced that it had appointed its new ambassador to Eritrea, Prakash Chand, who will take office over the next few weeks. Chand, who has served as Consul General in Bali since 2019, is a high-ranking diplomat, and his appointment was welcomed by the Indian community residing in Eritrea, which looks forward to increased cooperation between the two countries (https://theprint.in/world/prakash-chand-appointed-as-indian-ambassador-to-eritrea/1126829/).
During Minister Muraledharan’s visit to Asmara, the director general of the Eritrean Foreign Ministry, Osman Ibrahim, organized a meeting with the Indian community residing in the country, to which the Indian minister reminded them of the importance New Delhi attaches to strengthening relations with the Horn of Africa region. Minister Muraledharan, moreover, visited Eritrea as part of a regional mission that began a few days earlier in Kenya, where he attended the inauguration ceremony of Kenya’s new president, William Ruto.
