India’s Modi begins ambitious five nation tour to boost economic cooperation

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began an ambitious world tour on Saturday that will take him to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the United States and Mexico, with the aim of “increasing economic cooperation” with these countries.

The intensive tour, which will see Modi visit five countries in five days, begins today with Afghanistan where he and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will inaugurate a dam built with Indian funds as “a symbol of friendship”, the prime minister said in a statement.

Tonight, Modi will fly to Qatar where he is due to hold a meeting on Sunday with business leaders and representatives of the large Indian community in the country, following which he will head to Switzerland to participate in business meetings.

The most important stop on Modi’s tour will be the U.S. He is set to land in Washington on Monday for the visit aimed at giving new impetus to the bilateral relations of the two countries.

Modi will remain in the U.S. until Wednesday during which time he will meet President Barack Obama, give a speech at the U.S. Congress, hold a meeting with influential business leaders and visit the Arlington Cemetery, among other activities.

“A strong relationship between India and the United States benefits not only our two nations, but also the rest of the world,” Modi said before boarding the plane on what will be his fourth trip to the U.S. since he assumed office two years ago.

Modi’s last stop will be in Mexico where he will meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to discuss an economic agenda.

“Although short, this visit contains a substantial agenda that will take our relationship to new heights,” said Modi, who will depart on the same day for India.

The last time an Indian prime minister visited Mexico to discuss bilateral affairs was in 1986. More recently, in 2012 then prime minister Manmohan Singh visited the country to participate in the G20 Summit.