President Murmu held delegation-level talks with Santokhi.

Paramaribo:

President Draupadi Murmu on Monday met her Suriname counterpart Chandrika Prasad Santokhi and they discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including defence, agriculture, information technology and capacity building. Murmu, who arrived in Suriname on Sunday on a three-day state visit for the first time after assuming office in July last year, was accorded a warm welcome by Santokhi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. President Murmu held delegation-level talks with Santokhi.

"The two presidents discussed ways to deepen India-Suriname relations and held wide-ranging discussions on a range of areas including defence, agriculture, IT and capacity building," President Murmu's office said. President Murmu and President Santokhi also attended an event that was based on the arrival of the first group of Indians in the South American nation.

The first ship carrying 452 Indian workers reached Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, on June 1873, <>. Most of the workers on board this ship were from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. "President Murmu paid homage at the 'Baba' and 'Mai' memorials, which mark the first Indian man and woman to step into Suriname," President Murmu's office said.

Earlier, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted, "President Draupadi Murmu and President Santokhi discussed ways to deepen India-Suriname partnership to impart new momentum to India-Suriname multifaceted cooperation."

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(This story has not been edited by the NDTV team; it has been published directly from the Syndicate feed.) )