Jaishankar to travel to West Asia, US and Belgium

External affairs minister S Jaishankar will visit four West Asian countries from Sunday, before travelling to the US and Belgium for important meetings at the United Nations and the European Union (EU).Jaishankar will visit Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman during July 5-10 and meet his counterparts and the leadership of the four countries, the external affairs ministry said on Saturday.The visit will focus on enhancing bilateral relations with the four countries and provide an opportunity to exchange views on regional developments and issues of mutual interest, the ministry said.The visit is being seen as part of New Delhi's continuing outreach to key partners in West Asia that are important sources of energy and also host large Indian communities. India has sought to ensure assured supplies of oil and gas from West Asia to cope with disruptions caused by the Iran-US conflict.Jaishankar will thereafter travel to New York to launch on July 13 India’s official campaign for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council during 2028-29.He will then travel to Brussels to attend the third ministerial meeting of India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) and interact with his EU and Belgian counterparts during July 14-15.