External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna is travelling on Friday evening to Mauritius and Mozambique. The visit is expected to broaden India's diplomatic engagements in Africa and in the southern Indian Ocean region. Mr. Krishna will focus on expanding India's strategic dialogue with the Indian Ocean country that has also attracted much attention from China in recent years. He will hold talks with his Mauritian counterpart Arvin Boolell on a wide range of issues, ranging from intensification of economic ties to culture and defence. <br/><br/>Mr Krishna will head to Mozambique on Sunday, the first bilateral visit by an Indian foreign minister to Mozambique in decades. The last two visits by the Indian foreign ministers to Maputo in 1979 and 1999 were in the context of multilateral conferences. During his talks with the leaders of Mozambique, Mr. Krishna is expected to focus on expanding economic and strategic ties. Coal India Limited recently acquired two coal blocks in Mozambique. India is one of top five trading partners of Mozambique. AIR correspondent reports that the security cooperation between the two sides have been growing since a bilateral security cooperation agreement was signed in 2005. This is aimed at bolstering Maputo's defence capabilities. On his way back to India, Mr Krishna will make a brief stopover in Seychelles, a picturesque island country that Beijing is wooing with much fervour. Last month, India and Seychelles signed two economic agreements during the visit of President James Michel to New Delhi and discussed ways to jointly combat piracy. <br/>