The Ministry of External Affairs has approved the request made by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to visit Gulf nations. According to officials, Vijayan is scheduled to visit Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates from October 16 to November 9.
He will be accompanied by Fisheries and Culture Minister Saji Cherian and his personal assistant, VM Suneesh.
The application submitted to the Centre stated that Vijayan would be attending various programmes organised by the Malayalam Mission and prominent expatriate organisations in those countries. Notably, the MEA's approval did not extend to the Chief Minister’s proposed visit to Saudi Arabia, despite a request for permission to attend public events in Dammam, Jeddah, and Riyadh.
The clearance note from the MEA stated that it had "no objection from the political angle" to the approved visits. However, it also included specific advisories: the Indian Embassy in Muscat advised the delegation to refrain from making political remarks during their stay in Oman, citing local sensitivities.
Furthermore, for the Kuwait leg of the trip, the Indian Embassy there conveyed that security and protocol facilitation would not be provided by the local government since there is "no bilateral component" to the visit.
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