Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will soon begin visiting Saarc countries, including Bangladesh, to strengthen ties with the member countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday disclosed India's initiative to send its foreign secretary on a “Saarc Yatra”.

“Would be sending our new Foreign Secretary on a Saarc Yatra soon to further strengthen our ties,” Modi said in a tweet.

Asked when Jaishankar will begin his visit to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) countries, Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, did not give a specific date but said, “Not in the next two weeks.”

He was speaking at a press briefing in New Delhi yesterday.

Akbaruddin emphasised that the Indian foreign secretary's visit, on the instruction of the prime minister, will mainly focus on the Saarc agenda as outlined by Modi at the Saarc summit in Kathmandu in November last.

This includes, a dedicated Saarc satellite and simplified medical visas, he said.