Menon to visit China as Manmohan’s Special Envoy

National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Menon will visit China from July 3 to 6 as a special envoy of the Prime Minister to discuss bilateral ties, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. File photo

National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon will travel to Beijing on Saturday on a three-day visit.

In a brief statement, the External Affairs Ministry announced Mr. Menon's visit without mentioning his agenda. But significantly, he has been designated as “Special Envoy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh” for the visit.

Incidentally, Mr. Menon's visit comes ahead of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's trip to China during which he is expected to finalise a deal for supply of two additional nuclear reactors to Pakistan.