Modi to travel to West Asia this year

Even as some reports suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be keen to cut down on the number of his foreign visits in 2016 to focus on pressing domestic issues, the Prime Minister is expected to undertake certain key overseas visits, particularly to west Asia this year.

Prime Minister Modi is likely to visit both Israel and Iran this year, something which is bound to be a delicate balancing act since both the nations are constantly at loggerheads.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Palestine when he visits Israel. A visit to Saudi Arabia is also said to be on the cards soon.

The Prime Minister is also expected to take a decision on visiting the South American continent for the NAM summit likely to take place in Venezuela in July.

An interesting feature is that three of the countries mentioned — Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela — are oil-rich and energy-hungry India will no doubt look to boost its commerce with these nations.

Reports from the US had earlier indicated that PM Modi is likely to visit the US for a third time at the end of March this year.