Djibouti City [Djibouti], September 22 (ANI): Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan on Thursday held a discussion with the Prime Minister of Djibouti Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Glad to call-on Hon'ble PM of Djibouti H.E. Mr. Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed. Conveyed greetings of PM @narendramodi ji. Discussed ways for broadeningdeepening of our bilateral relations." Muraleedharan tweeted.

Muraleedharan also visited the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Djibouti, built with India's assistance. He offered floral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed there.

"Visited Mahatma Gandhi Center for LeadershipEntrepreneurship in Djibouti, built under India's assistance. Offered floral tributes to the Statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed there. Happy to be received by H.E. Mrs. Mariam Hamadou Ali, Minister of Digital EconomyInnovation," the minister tweeted.

"Glad to see MGCLE nurturing budding entrepreneurial talents among the Djiboutian youth," he added.

Muraleedharan also met with Djibouti Foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and discussed with him the bilateral relations and identified further areas of cooperation including education, defence and health.

Had a fruitful meeting with FM of Djibouti H.E @ymahmoudali in Djibouti. Glad Health Minister H.E.Dr Ahmed Abdilleh also joined. Held candid discussions on several aspects of bilateral relationsidentified further areas of cooperation including education, defencehealth.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation was also signed between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (SSIFS) in New Delhi and the Institute of Diplomatic Studies (IDS) of Djibouti to expand the relationship between the two countries.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan and the Foreign Minister of Djibouti, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. The two ministers also signed an agreement on the exemption from visa requirements for holders of Diplomatic and Official/Service Passports.

Earlier in the day, Muraleedharan visited the chancery and interacted with the officials of the embassy. "Hon'ble @MOS_MEA visited the Chancery and interacted with the Embassy officials. @MEAIndia @SecretaryCPVOIA @IndianDiplomacy," the official handle of the Indian embassy in Djibouti wrote on Twitter.

MoS Muraleedharan is on a two-day visit to the Horn of Africa nation. He arrived in Djibouti on Wednesday. It is the first ministerial visit from India after a resident embassy opened in Djibouti.

India and Djibouti share warm and friendly relations underpinned by historical and cultural linkages. Djibouti extended extraordinary support in the evacuation of Indian nationals from war-torn Yemen in 2015 (Operation Rahat).

Under Operation Rahat, India evacuated nearly 5,600 people from Yemen. In 2015, a conflict raged between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels. A sizeable Indian community is living in Djibouti.

The visit of MoS Muraleedharan is expected to provide further momentum to the bilateral ties between India and Djibouti. (ANI)