NEW DELHI, 19 October 2003 — President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s first official foreign tour began yesterday in the United Arab Emirates. The seven-day tour will also take him to Sudan and Bulgaria.
“This is the first visit of an Indian president to the UAE in two and a half decades,” officials said. The last president to visit the UAE was Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in 1976.
In the UAE, Kalam will address the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and meet members of the Indian community and students of the Indian High School there.
The UAE is home to more than a million Indian expatriates.
Kalam’s visit is expected to further boost Indo-UAE ties. “It is possible that UAE President Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al-Nahayan will also visit India in the near future.” Sheikh Zayed last visited India in January 1975.
Kalam will also inspect the Indian pavilion at Gitex 2003, Middle East’s largest IT show in Dubai.
India’s is the biggest participant at the IT show, and the event is expected to provide the widest possible exposure to Indian companies, including those in the small and medium sectors, Electronics and Computer Software Export Council (ESC), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Information and Technology of the Indian government, said.
Over the past few years, there has been a phenomenal rise in IT exports from India to the Middle East, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman topping the markets for Indian software solutions.
The president will also visit the Umm Al- Nar Desalination Plant, the Special Care Center run by the Indian Ladies’ Association, the Higher College of Technology and Knowledge Village.
During his UAE visit, Kalam may also try resolving the issue of illegal migrants from India’s Kerala state.
Kalam will be in the UAE until Monday, in Sudan on Monday and Tuesday and in Bulgaria until Wednesday.
The president’s visits will be marked by India signing two agreements and a memorandum of understanding with Bulgaria, and an extradition treaty and three agreements with Sudan, presidential palace officials said.
While in Sudan, Kalam will address the National Assembly and university students in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. He will meet the Sudanese alumni of Indian universities.
During his stay in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the president is expected to meet members of the scientific community.
Kalam was seen off at the airport by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and other officials.
