The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr Marty Natalegawa, is to visit India on July 27, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said on Tuesday.

Bilateral trade between India and Indonesia stands at $20 billion, he said, adding that Indian investments in Indonesia are rising.

In response to a question on Syria, the spokesman said that the Indian Embassy is being evacuated from there. At the beginning of crisis, there were about 900 Indians but now about less than 100.

In response to a question on Bangladesh, the spokesman said that the Commerce Minister will visit Bangladesh in December for a trade fair.

He also said that the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka had met the Attorney General yesterday on the issue of 25 Indian fishermen being detained in Sri Lanka.

In addition, the Indian Counsel in Jaffna has also visited Mannar and met the fishermen and he reported them in good health.

He said the visit of Indian Foreign Minister to Pakistan has been confirmed for September 7, 8 and 9.

PTI reports:

The External Affairs Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, will undertake a three-day visit to Pakistan from September 7 to review the second round of the bilateral dialogue process with his counterpart, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar.

The Indian High Commissioner, Mr Sharat Sabharwal, met Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, Mr Jalil Abbas Jilani, yesterday and informed him about the dates for Mr Krishna’s visit, diplomatic sources told PTI.

The dates for the visit were earlier suggested by the Foreign Office. The Indian envoy and Mr Jilani also discussed bilateral issues, including preparations for Mr Krishna’s visit.

Mr Krishna will review the dialogue process, which resumed last year after a gap of over two years in the wake of Mumbai attacks, during a meeting with Ms Khar on September 8, the sources said.

Following the review, Mr Krishna and Ms Khar are expected to prepare the framework for the third round of the resumed dialogue.

During his stay in Islamabad, Mr Krishna is expected to call on the President, Mr Asif Ali Zardari, the Prime Minister, Mr Raja Pervez Ashraf, and some key political leaders, including PML-N chief, Mr Nawaz Sharif, and PML-Q leader, Mr Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain.

Following the resumption of the dialogue process, India and Pakistan have made significant progress in normalising trade relations.

Islamabad recently switched to a negative list regime for trade with Delhi, paving the way for giving India Most Favoured Nation status by the beginning of next year.

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