Page 10 - External Affairs Ministry

Two of four Kerala youth forced into Russia-Ukraine war to return home

Two of the four Kerala-based youths who fought in the war against Ukraine after being recruited into the Russian army by private agencies will soon return home to their families, Union Minister of State (Mos) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan has said. The MoS said on Tuesday evening that the Indian Embassy was readying their travel documents to return from Russia. "We expect that they will soon return home," Muraleedharan, who is contesting from the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming 2024 general elections, told reporters. Regarding the remaining two residents of the state, the MoS said the External Affairs Ministry was in talks with the Russian government to bring them back as well. "Rest assured we are taking strong measures to ensure their return," he said. According to the relatives of the three men, he said that they were taken to Russia by a recruitment agency with the promise of a whopping salary of Rs 2.5 lakh. Earlier, Muraleedharan had said that authori

India summons German envoy to protest comments on Kejriwal's arrest

India on Saturday summoned the German deputy chief of mission here and lodged a strong protest against the country's foreign ministry's remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The German envoy Georg Enzweiler was summoned by officials in the external affairs ministry and told that the German Foreign Ministry's remarks on Kejriwal's arrest were an interference in India's judicial process and any "biased assumptions" were "most unwarranted", an MEA official said. A German Foreign Ministry spokesperson had "taken note" of Kejriwal's arrest. "We assume and expect that the standards relating to the independence of Judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case," the German official had said. "The German deputy chief of mission in New Delhi was summoned today and conveyed India's strong protest on their Foreign Office spokesperson's comments on our internal affairs," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "We see

Jaishankar begins Singapore visit by paying homage to Bose, INA soldiers

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar began his three-day visit to Singapore by paying homage to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army soldiers at a war memorial here on Saturday. "Began my Singapore visit by paying homage to Netaji and the brave Indian National Army soldiers. The INA Marker in Singapore recognises their deep patriotism and indomitable spirit that remain an inspiration for generations to come," the minister posted on X. Jaishankar during his visit will meet the top leaders of Singapore, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, according to an official statement. Jaishankar's visit underscores the close friendship between Singapore and India and will be a good opportunity for both sides to exchange views on regional and global developments as well as to continue discussions on the good progress in bilateral cooperation, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "India's EAM Dr S Jaishankar will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien

Jaishankar to visit Singapore from March 23-25; to meet PM Lee Hsien Loong

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on a three-day visit to Singapore from Saturday, during which he will meet the top leaders of the country, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, according to an official statement. Jaishankar's visit underscores the close friendship between Singapore and India and will be a good opportunity for both sides to exchange views on regional and global developments as well as to continue discussions on the good progress in bilateral cooperation, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "India's EAM Dr S Jaishankar will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, and Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean during his visit to Singapore," the statement said. He will also meet his counterpart Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, and Minister for Home Affairs and Law .

EAM S Jaishankar to pay 5-day visit to Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay a five-day visit to Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia beginning March 23 with an aim to boost bilateral ties and discuss regional issues of "mutual concern". Jaishankar's first destination is expected to be Singapore. "External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, at the invitation of his counterparts, will be on an official visit to Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia from March 23 to 27," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a brief statement on Saturday. "The visit will focus on enhancing bilateral relations with the three countries, and would provide an opportunity for engagement on regional issues of mutual concern," it said. The overall situation in the strategic waters, including the South China Sea and Red Sea, are likely to figure in Jaishankar's talks with his counterparts in the three countries. There have been growing global concerns over China's sweeping claims of sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a

India looking at evacuating its nationals amid violence in Haiti, says MEA

India on Friday said it is looking at evacuating up to 90 of its nationals from Haiti in view of the deteriorating security situation in the Caribbean nation. Various gangs have launched coordinated attacks on key installations in Haiti in an attempt to force the resignation of the country's embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry. There are between 75 and 90 Indians in Haiti and about 60 of them have registered with Indian authorities to return to India "if need be", external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. "We are ready to evacuate everybody," he said. India doesn't have an embassy in Haiti and the situation in the country is being monitored by the Indian mission at Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has already opened control rooms and established emergency helpline numbers in Santo Domingo as well as in New Delhi. The Indian embassy in Santo Domingo said it is in touch with

India very important to us: New Zealand's Dy PM Peters on bilateral visit

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters arrived in New Delhi on Monday evening

Anand Mahindra bats for making life simpler for Indian innovators

The PLI schemes are on the right path providing a runway for businesses to foray into new sectors and industries, he said

EAM Jaishankar's Japan visit explores ways to strengthen global partnership

EAM Jaishankar held the 16th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue with Japanese Foreign Minister, Yoko Kamikawa, on March 7

India will have political stability for next decade or even two: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday exuded confidence that India will have a stable government for 15 years, even longer, as he highlighted how long-term political stability helps a government make "bold" decisions. Jaishankar, speaking at the Nikkei Forum on India-Japan Special Strategic Partnership here, said a reformist and visionary leadership backed by a strong political mandate, which in a democracy means having a majority in Parliament, results in "bold decision making". The minister's comments were in response to a question about political stability in India and whether the upcoming elections will affect India's foreign policy. India in May this year heads for crucial general elections with more than 950 million citizens gearing up to exercise their right to choose the government. "Hundred per cent we will have 15 years of stable government. It could even be that of 20 years or longer," Jaishankar said in response to the question. "Every country, every society

EAM Jaishankar, Secy-Gen of Japan's LDP discuss ways to strengthen ties

EAM highlighted that there will always be new complexities but equally fresh opportunities will also be there

Global South believes in India; China does not care about them: Jaishankar

Highlighting India's leadership among the Global South, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said the 125 countries of the platform placed their trust in India and that China skipped the two meetings convened by India last year to listen to their concerns. Addressing the Nikkei Forum on the India-Japan partnership here, India's top diplomat said that countries of the Global South feel for each other on a number of issues. "On a lot of issues, these countries feel for each other. The feeling has been intensified by COVID because many countries of the Global South felt that they were the last in the line to get the vaccine. They even felt at the time when India became G20 President that their concerns were not even on the agenda of the G20. "So we did last year two meetings of the voice of the Global South because we wanted to listen to these 125 countries and then put before the G20 a set of issues which were the collective views of these 125 countries. Within Asia and .

India-Japan ties will draw strength from larger activities like Quad: EAM

Jaishankar is on a visit to Japan from March 6-8 for the 16th India-Japan Foreign Minister's Strategic Dialogue with his Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa

India deeply troubled by loss of civilian lives in Gaza: Ambassador Kamboj

India is "deeply troubled" by the conflict in Gaza that has raged on for nearly five months now, the country's envoy to the UN has said, asserting that the loss of civilian lives and the resulting humanitarian crisis is "clearly unacceptable". India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador, Ruchira Kamboj, said this while addressing a UN General Assembly meeting on the 'Use of Veto' on Monday. The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to large scale loss of civilian lives, especially women and children.this has also resulted in an alarming humanitarian crisis. This is clearly unacceptable, Kamboj told the UNGA. She said that India has been "deeply troubled by the conflict in Gaza that has been raging for nearly five months now." "The humanitarian crisis has deepened, and the region and beyond have seen rising instability, India's top diplomat to the UN said. The General Assembly held the plenary debate on the Use of the veto' after the US cast a veto in the UN .

Introspect on deserved global reputation as terrorism factory: India to Pak

India has slammed Pakistan as it raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council, saying it should introspect on its own appalling human rights record and deserved global reputation as the "world's terrorism factory". Under Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva Jagpreet Kaur exercised the country's Right of Reply at the General debate at the 55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Monday after Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), raked the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in its statement. We have taken the floor previously during this Session and conveyed our disinclination to waste the Council's time in responding to fallacious comments about India, by one particular delegation, which does so as they do not have anything constructive to contribute, Kaur said on Monday. Without naming Pakistan, Kaur said it is unfortunate that this country continues with its diatribe against India, including b

'Big bullies don't give $4.5 billion': Jaishankar's sharp reply to Maldives President Muizzu

India-France growing 'strength to strength': EAM meets French official

India and France have held traditionally close and friendly relations. In 1998, the two nations entered into Strategic Partnership

EAM Jaishankar flags possible risks from new technologies like AI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday warned against risks that new technologies like artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose for national security and said attempts of foreign interference through the cyber domain are growing. In an interactive session at a think-tank, Jaishankar said there is a need to guard against threats emanating from the cyber domain. "When we think of security, it is not just the defence of the borders, it is not countering terrorism alone.... But there is the daily routine which is so susceptible today to manipulation and this is growing," he said. "I would say frankly, in many ways, today foreign interference in this country is growing. It is important for the average person to understand how the world is changing because it is an era of AI (artificial intelligence) and deepfakes," Jaishankar said. The external affairs minister was speaking at the Ananta Aspen Centre. "They will not come out of thin air. They are today at a certain level.

The global multilateral system is facing a 'logjam': EAM S Jaishankar

A lot of our challenges today emanate today from how countries have used that for their benefit at the expense of the international system, EAM S Jaishankar said

Muraleedharan represents India at G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brazil

"Honored to represent India at G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Rio. During my intervention at a session on 'G20's role in dealing with ongoing international tensions'," Muraleedharan posted on X.