Page 5 - External Affairs Ministry

EAM Jaishankar, Qatar PM Al Thani discuss advancing bilateral relations

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Saudi Arabia on Monday. The two leaders discussed taking forward bilateral ties.Sharing details regarding his meeting with Qatar PM, Jaishankar stated, "Began the day with a good meeting with PM & FM of Qatar @MBA_AlThani_. Discussed taking India-Qatar bilateral ties forward. Appreciated his insights and assessments on regional developments."The two leaders had earlier held a meeting in Doha in June. The two leaders had held talks on strengthening bilateral ties across various sectors and addressing key regional challenges.Jaishankar conveyed warm greetings and wishes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Qatar Amir Amir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Qatar PM.He underscored the robust nature of the India-Qatar relationship, emphasising cooperation in political, trade, investment, energy, technology, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.Notably, S Jaishankar ..

Jaishankar to embark on visit to Saudi Arabia, Germany, Switzerland on Sun

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will on Sunday embark on a six-day visit to Saudi Arabia, Germany and Switzerland with a larger aim to boost overall bilateral ties and deliberate on pressing regional and global challenges. He will first travel to the Saudi capital Riyadh on a two-day trip primarily to attend the first India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers' meeting, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The GCC is an influential grouping comprising the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. The total volume of India's trade with GCC countries stood at USD 184.46 billion in the financial year 2022-23. In Riyadh, Jaishankar is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of several GCC member countries. The MEA said India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, including in areas of trade and investment, energy, cultural and people-to-people ties. "The GCC region has emerged as a m

India-Singapore relations poised for bigger take-off: MEA on PM's visit

Building on "new anchors" of partnership identified under the India-Singapore ministerial roundtable framework, the relations between the two countries is poised for an even bigger take-off, the MEA said on Monday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Singapore. Prime Minister Modi is slated to visit Singapore on September 4-5 at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong. Prior to that he is scheduled to visit Brunei on September 3-4 which seeks to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in all existing sectors. Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, Jaideep Mazumdar, at a media briefing here said India and Brunei are working towards setting up a "joint working group in defence". He said Prime Minister Modi is visiting Singapore after nearly six years. His last visit to Singapore was in his first term. And an early visit on his third term is something that has been "welcomed by the Singaporean side". "Also, this comes at a time when a new le

We have to look at mutuality of interests: EAM on India-Bangladesh ties

Since its independence in 1971, India's relationship with Bangladesh has "gone up and down" and it is natural that New Delhi deals with the government of the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. In his address at a book launch here, he also emphasised that India will have to look at "mutuality of interests" and said for any country in the world, neighbours are "always a conundrum", and so are "major powers". His comments come in the backdrop of the unprecedented anti-government protests in Bangladesh which eventually led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government and her fleeing to India on August 5. Hasina's presence in India for over three weeks has given rise to speculation in that country. Since August 8, an interim government, led by Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus along with a team of advisers, is in place in Bangladesh. The book 'Stategic Conundrum: Reshaping India's Foreign Policy', written by Rajiv Sikri, former ambassador of India, talks about th

PM Modi to visit Brunei, Singapore in first week of September: MEA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Brunei and Singapore in the first week of September, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. The prime minister will travel to Brunei on September 3-4, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced at his media briefing. This will be the first bilateral visit of an Indian prime minister to Brunei, he said. This visit will also mark 40 years of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between India and Brunei, Jaiswal said. From there, PM Modi is slated to visit Singapore on September 4-5 at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart, the MEA said.

Era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan over, says Jaishankar

Jaishankar said that there are strong people-to-people ties with Afghanistan

BS@50: How India thrived in adversarial environment in the past 50 years

India at 77 stands as a country that has held its own, showing a remarkable capacity to manage an essentially adversarial external environment

India, Singapore commit to boost cooperation in emerging, futuristic areas

India and Singapore on Monday pledged to further enhance co-operation in the emerging and futuristic areas. The Indian delegation led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman deliberated upon six pillars identified under India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR). Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong led the delegation of Singapore during the second ISMR. "During the meeting, the leaders emphasised on ways of further enhancing co-operation between India and Singapore in emerging and futuristic areas. Both sides deliberated upon six pillars identified under ISMR, which include Digitalisation, Skill Development, Sustainability, Healthcare & Medicine, and Advanced Manufacturing and Connectivity," the finance ministry said in post on X. The leaders also discussed plans for commemorating the 60th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore, alongside regional and global cooperation, including ASEAN & G20 developments, it said. The leaders noted that the ...

News updates: Cabinet approves Unified Pension Scheme, says will benefit 2.3 mn central employees

Latest news updates: From Dhawan's retirement to PM Modi's Ukraine visit updates, catch all the news developments from around the world here

EU envoy to India hails PM Modi's Ukraine visit on 'landmark date'

European Union's Ambassador to India, Herve Delphin on Friday stated that August 23 marks a landmark date as the official National Flag Day of Ukraine coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country.Delphin added that the European Union will continue to support Ukraine in defending itself against "Russian aggression".Taking to X, Delphin said, "This August 23 is a landmark date as it is Ukraine National Flag Day & coincides with the historical visit of Indian PM Narendra Modi to Kyiv. European Union will continue to support the Ukrainian country and nation in defending itself against Russian aggression. Ukraine will prevail!"Prime Minister Modi today arrived in war-hit Ukraine after a 10-hour journey from Poland aboard the trail Rail Force One."Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome," PM Modi stated in a post on X.Upon his arrival PM Modi was received at the Kiev Central station and subsequently headed to the Hyatt

PM Narendra Modi arrives in Ukraine on historic visit to war-torn country

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Ukraine on a historic visit to the war-torn country during which he is expected to share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict with the Ukrainian leader. Modi is visiting Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow which triggered criticism from the US and some of its Western allies. This is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country became independent in 1991. "I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict," Modi had said before leaving Delhi. "As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region." The prime minister travelled to Kyiv from Poland in a 'Rail Force One' train that took aro

Amid China threat, India and Japan to update 2008 security cooperation pact

India and Japan held a fresh edition of their 2+2 dialogue on Tuesday, amid China's increasing muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific region

India, Malaysia elevate ties to comprehensive strategic partnership

Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim arrived in Delhi for a state visit, his first visit to India as the Malaysian premier and he was warmly received by Union Minister of State, V Somanna at the airport

Nepal foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba begins five-day visit to India

Nepal Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba arrived here on Sunday on a five-day visit with an aim to carry out a comprehensive review of the bilateral ties. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Deuba's visit is a testament to the "unique and close" relationship between the two countries. "Warm welcome to FM @Arzuranadeuba of Nepal as she arrives in New Delhi on an official visit," he posted on 'X'. "The visit continues the tradition of regular high-level bilateral exchanges and is a testament to the unique & close relationship between the two countries," Jaiswal said. Deuba is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday. The Nepalese foreign minister's visit comes a week after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri travelled to Kathmandu. Nepal is an important neighbour for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti Beti" ..

Multilateral bodies didn't solve critical issues faced by global order: EAM

India on Saturday once again strongly pitched for reforms of key multilateral institutions, saying it is an "undeniable" fact that when the global order faced "critical challenges", solutions did not emerge from them. In his address at the third India-hosted virtual Voice of the Global South Summit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also called for facilitating low-cost financing and critical technologies to developing countries. "It is an undeniable fact that even as the global order faced critical challenges, solutions did not emerge from the multilateral domain," he said, calling for revitalising multilateralism. "The reason is both the obsolescence and the polarisation of multilateral organisations," he said, speaking at the foreign ministers' session of the summit. "Here too, India has argued for reformed multilateralism and sought reforms of Multilateral Development Banks through the G20. As a group, we need to press home our case," Jaishankar said. India has been ...

We welcome B'desh govt's focus on minorities, in touch with India too: US

Even as it welcomed the new Bangladesh government's focus on the protection of minority communities, the US has said it is in touch with India and other countries in the region on the situation in the country while seeking an end to the violence there. Amid continued reports on targeted attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, especially the Hindus along with the destruction of temples and their properties after August 5 when Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, several influential US Congressmen have requested the Biden administration to look into these attacks. Chief Advisor to the interim government Yunus Muhammad, who took charge on August 8, met the distressed community at the famous Dhakeshwari temple in Dhaka on Tuesday and assured them that his government would punish the perpetrators. During his daily news conference on Wednesday, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel welcomed Yunus' statement calling for calm and an end to the recent violence. We welcome t

US welcomes India's engagement, efforts for peace in Russia-Ukraine war

The United States welcomes India's engagement in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and its efforts to bring peace between the two countries, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel has said here. Patel was responding to a question on the likely visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ukraine later this month. "I will let the (Indian) prime minister's office speak to any of his own travels. I don't have anything to offer there," he said during his daily news conference on Wednesday. "We are in touch with our Indian partners on a number of issues and, of course, would welcome India's engagement in the war between Russia and Ukraine, especially as it relates to ensuring that we get to a just and durable peace that is reflective of what our Ukrainian partners are attempting to do, which is to defend their territorial integrity and sovereignty," Patel said. Modi is likely to visit Poland and Ukraine from August 21 to 23. No official announcement in this regard has

India keen to advance ties with Bangladesh's interim govt: Indian envoy

India is interested in advancing its relationship with Bangladesh under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma said on Wednesday but did not comment on how long the ousted leader Sheikh Hasina would stay in India. Verma's remarks came after a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Daily Star newspaper reported. "We are interested in advancing our relationship with Bangladesh," Verma told the media after a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nobel laureate Yunus was appointed as the head of the interim government on Tuesday after Prime Minister Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 following widespread protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs. This was the first meeting by the Indian envoy Verma with Touhid Hossain after the formation of the interim government following the fall of the Hasina-led Aw

Every symbol of India-Bangladesh friendship is being attacked: Tharoor

A clash occurred on Tuesday between Bangladesh Army personnel and members of the minority Hindu community protesting with posters of their family members who went missing during the violence

Sheikh Hasina's stay won't impact India-Bangladesh ties, say officials

Bangladesh assures strong ties with India amid political transition, even if Sheikh Hasina remains in India confirmed Bangladeshi government officials