New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Sunday goes to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on a five-day trip that is expected to reinvigorate India’s economic and political ties with the energy-rich Gulf countries that are home to a large Indian diaspora.
In Bahrain, he will hold talks with Foreign Minister Majid Bin Muhsin Al Alawi on a range of bilateral and regional issues. He will also meet Bahrain’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah and other dignitaries.

“New avenues of cooperation including in the areas of economic, trade and energy security will be discussed,” the external affairs ministry said here Saturday, while announcing Tharoor’s first visit to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

The minister will speak on expanding horizons of cooperation between India and the GCC at an event organized by the Bahrain-India Society, which will be attended by top business leaders.

Tharoor heads to the UAE Tuesday on a three-day visit that is expected to map out a fresh roadmap for accelerating multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries.

He will call on Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, and Minister for Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Khalid Sultan Al Qasimi.

Tharoor will have wide-ranging discussions with his counterpart Anwar Gangash when new vistas of cooperation in wide-ranging areas will be discussed to define a fresh roadmap.

The focus of the visit will be economic. India is looking for funds from the cash-rich Gulf countries for investment in its burgeoning infrastructure sector. The UAE is India’s third largest trading partner with over $29 billion in bilateral trade and has invested over $4.5 billion investment through FDI/FII route in diverse sectors of the Indian economy.

Tharoor will address a prestigious business and industry meeting arranged by the HSBC/Financial Times Forum on ‘Doing Business with India’. He will also interact with leading community members and Indian associations, including the Indian Business Professionals’ Council, Dubai and Indian Business Professional Group, Abu Dhabi.