M.J. Akbar, who resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs Wednesday, was liaising with Muslim countries in Central and West Asia and Africa.
New Delhi: As the junior Minister of External Affairs, M.J. Akbar had his plate full. The former journalist, who resigned as minister Wednesday in the face of sexual harassment allegations from at least 20 women, was in charge of Central and West Asia and Africa.
He was supposed to make official visits to six countries in the next five months for some crucial meetings with Muslim nations and oil producing countries.
Akbar, in fact, was in Nigeria when the #MeToo movement brought out stories of alleged harassment involving him on 8 October. He was leading an Indian delegation at a Confederation of Indian Industry-EXIM Bank conclave in Lagos. He then proceeded to visit Equatorial Guinea on 11 October, before returning on Sunday, 14 October.
Speculation is rife about who will attend these crucial summits. Names like Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, her other deputy V.K. Singh, and petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan are among those making the rounds.
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Kyrgyzstan, mid-November
Akbar was slotted to attend the second international conference on ‘Islam in a Modern Secular State’, scheduled for 15-16 November in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. He was the keynote speaker in the first conference held on 28 September 2017.
Kuwait, late November
The former minister was slated to visit Kuwait for a sit-down with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), regarding oil supply issues.
Turkmenistan, December
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), also known as the ‘Peace Pipeline’, was also on Akbar’s agenda. He was scheduled to head over to the city of Mary, Turkmenistan, for talks about the project.
Austria and Iraq, January 2019
To discuss the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq, Akbar had two meetings set for the month of January. The first one is to be held in Vienna, Austria, followed by one in Iraq’s capital Baghdad.
Ghana, March 2019
Akbar was also set to represent India in Ghana in March, at an international gathering featuring OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA). Oil producing nations not included in OPEC are also set to be present at this meeting.
Also read: India’s foreign office could not afford a man like MJ Akbar: Nirupama Rao on ThePrint