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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday kicked off his six-day, five-nation tour of Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the United States and Mexico, spanning three continents.
In fact, Modi's visit was initially meant to be a three-nation tour, but it was later stretched to Switzerland and Mexico -- ironically, both the countries have opposed India's membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which will hold an extraordinary session in Vienna on June 9.
"The Swiss visit arose from a meeting that the Prime Minister had with the Swiss president on sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. The Mexican tour has been on our minds since September," Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar has justified.
Modi will visit Washington on June 6, where he will be the fifth Indian Prime Minister to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He is also scheduled to hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on various bilateral ties and address the U.S.-India Business Council.
During the last leg of his tour, Modi will stop in Mexico. "My visit to Mexico, a privileged partner in the Latin American region, will give an impetus to India-Mexico ties," he wrote.
（APD）
