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Prince Charles, accompanied by wife Camilla, will pay a six-day visit to India from next Sunday to support environmental and conservation initiatives and encourage sustainable employment opportunities for young people, it was officially announced in London on Sunday.
In New Delhi, the Royal couple will attend the British High Commissioner's annual reception for diplomats, politicians and businessmen. They will visit Punjab and Rajasthan, where the Prince and the British Indian community have been taking forward a range of charitable initiatives.
The chief ministers of the two states have invited Prince Charles and Camilla to support plans to help promote sustainable farming, employment generation and water conservation, a spokesman of the Prince said.
The India visit will be part of a three-nation tour the Prince is undertaking from Monday. This is the second overseas visit of the Royal couple. Last November, they travelled to America for their first official foreign trip together. The two-week stint abroad from Monday will take the Prince to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, before reaching India.
The spokesman said that all the three countries are important partners for the United Kingdom and it is hoped that the visits would help to develop further the close relations with these countries.
"The visits provide an opportunity to support the UK's international contribution and profile. The key themes of the tour are promoting better understanding and tolerance between faiths, supporting environmental and conservation initiatives and encouraging sustainable employment and training opportunities for young people," the spokesman said.
The royal couple will visit Egypt from March 20 to 24. They will tour Cairo, as well as an Oasis town, before laying a wreath at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at El Alamein. The visit include events to promote British education in Egypt and better understanding between faiths, as well as attending an exhibition of traditional Islamic art.
The couple will visit Saudi Arabia from March 24 to 26. Their engagements will focus on education and training opportunities for men and women as well as faith issues.