Kalam leaves for Strasbourg

President APJ Abdul Kalam leaves New Delhi for Strasbourg, the seat of the European Parliament, and then for an official visit to Greece.

With support building up for him for a second term, President APJ Abdul Kalam left New Delhi on Tuesday for Strasbourg, the seat of the European Parliament, and then for an official visit to Greece.

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Kalam will be the first Indian president to address the European Parliament. He will also address the International Space University in Strasbourg before heading to Greece for a four-day visit on Wednesday.

In Greece, three important agreements, relating to bilateral investment promotion and protection, science and technology and the one between the foreign service institutes of the two countries will be signed.

For Kalam, the five-day visit would be his fifth state visit abroad and possibly the last of this presidential term.

However, there are reports of a broad coalition of support building up in favour of another term for Kalam, who had earlier expressed a wish to retire to his native place in Tamil Nadu after his first term ended in June.