<span style="color: #222222;">Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu left for Belgrade Friday afternoon for the first phase of his 7- day tour to three central European countries, Serbia, Malta and Romania.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">He is accompanied by Minister of State for (Finance) Mr. Shiv Pratap Shukla, 3 MPs from Rajya Sabha and one from Lok Sabha along with a business delegation headed by C.I.I.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The vice president will reach Serbia this evening, where he will address the Indian diaspora. Official welcome ceremony will be held on Saturday. He will hold a meeting with the President of Serbia. Various MoUs will also be signed between the two countries. Later, he will address a special session of National Assembly of Serbia.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Vice – President will leave for Malta on 16th of September for the second phase of his visit. He is scheduled to interact with the heads of states of all the three countries and witness the signing of MoUs.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Vice President's visit is expected to strengthen India's bilateral relations with these three countries. The visit will help the countries to exchange expertise and share knowledge in the fields of economy, environment, trade and culture.</span>