New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been ridiculed for his extensive foreign travels, will reportedly cut down on his visits abroad in 2016, travelling only when it is absolutely necessary so that he can devote more time to issues of domestic importance.
Modi, according to sources in the Prime Minister’s Office, has asked the external affairs ministry to keep his foreign engagements in 2016 to the minimum and his travel plans, as of now, are restricted to a couple of visits abroad in the first half of the year and international summits in the latter.
In the past 19 months since he rode to power, Modi has visited 33 countries in a bid to boost foreign relations. His frequent tours abroad drew ridicule from the Opposition that accuses him of ignoring domestic issues.
Modi will travel to Pakistan for the SAARC summit, tentatively scheduled for the second half of 2016. Agencies
