New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan will pay a four-day official visit to the US, starting today.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, the Union Minister will be in the US from October 6-9. In the first part of his visit, Muraleedharan will go to New York from Oct 6-7, where he will participate in the high-level UN Security Council debate, on "Peace and Security in Africa: Strengthening the fight against the financing of armed groups and terrorists through the illicit trafficking of natural resources."

The UNSC meeting is a signature initiative of Gabon's Presidency of the Security Council and is likely to be presided over by the Foreign Minister of Gabon.

On the second day, MoS will attend an event to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

Established in 2017, the USD 150 million India-UN Development Partnership Fund is supported and led by the Government of India and implemented in collaboration with the United Nations system, the statement reads.

The Fund supported Southern-owned and led, demand-driven and transformational sustainable development projects across the developing world, focusing on the least-developed countries and small island developing States.

During his visit, Muraleedharan is also likely to meet senior UN officials as well as Ministers of other member states attending the UNSC meeting.

In the second part of his visit, MoS will also be visiting Atlanta between October 8-9 for Indian community-related engagements, the statement added.

Earlier, Muraleedharan paid a visit to Oman where he signed a historic MoU to launch the Rupay debit card, paving the way for a new era of financial connectivity.

Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan witnessed the signing of the MoU and met Tahir Al Amri, Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman. MoS Muraleedharan arrived in the capital city of Oman, Muscat on Monday for a two-day visit to deepen ties between both nations.

MoS was on a three-day visit to Oman where he visited Oman Investment Authority and met Executive President, Abdulsalam Al Murshidi. MoU apprised him of huge investment opportunities in the infrastructure and energy sectors in India and highlighted the policy initiatives being taken in India to spur growth.