Published 17:43 IST, January 9th 2020
MEA specifies objective of delegation visit to Jammu and Kashmir
The visit included a security briefing, interaction with locals as well as leaders. The delegation is on a 2-day visit to the UT and will go to Jammu later
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar elaborated on the delegation's visit to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir during his weekly press briefing.
15 member delegation
Kumar said, "A group of 15 resident heads of Foreign Missions are on a two-day visit to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. The visit is being facilitated by the government of India. The envoys, who are a part of the group are from US, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, & Guyana."
Specifying the itinerary of the delegation, he said they held high-level meetings with security officials to get a consensus on security measures in Jammu and Kashmir and to understand the threat posed by terrorism while maintaining peace and security in the UT. After the meeting, there was an interaction with civil society members from all walks of life who came from all over the UT. The group also interacted with the local media which was followed by interaction with several political leaders. Kumar stated that they will have more meetings after which they will proceed to Jammu and for a few more meetings, after which they will return to New Delhi.
Stating the objectives of the visit, he said the government had made efforts to normalise the situation and wanted to have representatives of other countries visit the region and see it first hand. The purpose of the visit was to see how things had progressed and had been restored to a large extent after the revocation of Article 370 in August. There have been several steps taken by the local administration towards that objective. The program kept in mind the threat posed by terrorists and thus adequate steps were taken.
He also added that the visit was organized based on the request received in the past by enjoys who are based in India and wanted to visit Jammu and Kashmir.
Updated 17:43 IST, January 9th 2020