By IANS,
New Delhi : Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur and a delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will visit Turkmenistan Feb 7-9 to boost bilateral ties between the two countries.
A press release said that the CII delegation will be the first ever group of Indian businessmen from the apex industry lobby to visit Turkmenistan.
The delegation’s visit will coincide with that of the Indian minister, who will be travelling to the Central Asian state to participate in the India-Turkmenistan inter-governmental commission of trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation.
Energy and mineral resources are expected to be a focus for talks, with India interested in Turkmenistan’s reserves of oil and coal, the release said.
The business delegation will be led by the chairman of CII’s Russia committee and vice-chairman of the Sun group, Shiv Vikram Khemka.
It will also include senior executives from Tata Chemicals Limited, Punj Lloyd, Wapcos, Appaswamy group, AMC Overseas Limited, The Fortune Group and Premier’s Tea Limited.
The total trade with Turkmenistan has increased from $26.12 million to $42.35 million in 2008-9.
The delegation members will interact with their counterparts at the Turkmenistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry as part of India-Turkmenistan Business Forum.