Page 6 - External Affairs Ministry

US-India relationship among most consequential in world: White House

White House Press Secretary Pierre said that US works with India on key priorities, including QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) which is a diplomatic partnership with India, Australia and Japan

K Natwar Singh: A staunch Nehru follower who parted ways with Congress

Natwar Singh was External Affairs minister in 2004-05 in Manmohan Singh's government till he was asked to step down after alleged charges of nepotism

EAM meets President Muizzu, says India- Maldives relation top priority

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and other top leaders and assured them that New Delhi attached top priority to its multifaceted relationship with Male and was determined to further its developmental cooperation with the country. Jaishankar's visit to the Maldives is the first high-level trip from New Delhi after the island nation's pro-China president, Muizzu, assumed office in November last year. "This visit is an opportunity to take stock of what our countries have achieved together as well as to chart out an aspirational blueprint for the coming years of what we are confident, will be a truly multifaceted partnership, Jaishankar said after talks with his Maldivian counterpart Moosa Zameer. "The bedrock of our partnership is the mutual benefit of our peoples," he said, noting that this is manifested in diverse sectors of our cooperation health, education, large infrastructure development, defence, maritime, agriculture, ...

MEA, NSIL sign agreement to assist launch of Nepalese Munal satellite

The Ministry of External Affairs and ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) signed an agreement on Saturday to grant assistance for the launching of the Nepal-built Munal satellite, according to an official statement. Munal is an indigenous satellite developed in Nepal under the aegis of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the MEA said. Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN), a Nepalese space startup, has assisted Nepalese students in the design and fabrication of this satellite. The satellite aims to build a vegetation density database of the earth's surface, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the statement. The MoU was signed by Anurag Srivastava, Joint Secretary (North) from MEA and Arunachalam A, Director from NSIL. Rabindra Prasad Dhakal, Secretary, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Surendra Thapa, Charg d'affaires of Nepali Embassy and Abhas Maskey, Founder, Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN) were also present on the ...

Bangladesh's opposition party says Sheikh Hasina must face criminal charges

Hasina, one of Asia's longest-serving leaders, resigned and fled Bangladesh on Aug 5 under pressure from millions of protesters who had taken to the streets for weeks to demand she step down

Foreign minister S Jaishankar reaches Maldives to reset bilateral ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here on a three-day official visit to reset the bilateral relationship with the Maldives, the first high-level trip from India after the archipelago nation's pro-China president Mohamed Muizzu assumed office last year. Jaishankar's trip to the Maldives comes weeks after President Muizzu's visit to India in June to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office in November 2023. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. Subsequently, the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians by May 10, the mutually agreed date. This is the first official visit of Jaishankar to the Maldives since assuming office for a second term in June 2024. His previous visit was in January 2023. Jaishankar's three-day v

Indian Consulate in NY cautions community against 'unscrupulous' agents

Amid instances of unscrupulous elements overcharging members of the Indian community for consular services and other fraudulent activities, India's mission here has cautioned against using such agents and highlighted measures undertaken by it to streamline visa, passport and other services for the diaspora. Consul General of India in New York Binaya Pradhan told reporters here that several instances have come to the notice of the Consulate where various travel agents are "misusing people's trust". They have been charging higher amounts of money in the name of providing services. Such unscrupulous elements have overcharged applicants for assistance in getting Consular services such as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), visa, passport and an emergency certificate. Pradhan cited instances where travel agents have charged as much as USD 450 to provide an emergency certificate to travel to India, while such a service costs only USD 17. The Consulate said it has also come across instances

Bangladesh crisis: In talks with Dhaka amid attacks on Hindus, says govt

In reply to questions by political leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Jaishankar did not rule out the role of foreign countries in the unrest in Bangladesh

Jaishankar chairs all-party meeting, briefs about developments in B'desh

Jaishankar briefed the leaders on how the issue had panned out in Bangladesh and the prevailing situation in the country

EAM Jaishankar assures to facilitate Indian, Sri Lankan fishermen meet

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday assured a delegation of Tamil Nadu fishermen that a meeting between the fishing communities of India and Sri Lanka will be facilitated to discuss the issues affecting them. He also informed that the recent apprehension of Indian fishermen by the Lankan authorities would be taken up at a meeting of the Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group to work out a solution to the problems, Tamil Nadu BJP state chief K Annamalai said. At the meeting in which the government secretaries too participated, Jaishankar mentioned that the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India was summoned over the death of the Rameswaram fisherman, and a strong protest was registered. "The representatives of the fishing community requested that a joint meeting between the representatives of the fishing community of the two countries be facilitated. Our EAM assured that the same would be considered," Annamalai said in a release here. Jaishankar had reaffirmed that the ...

Bangladesh unrest: Cabinet Committee on Security meets to assess situation

The meeting came as Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled her country and landed in India on her way to London

Over 210,000 Indians renounced citizenship of India in 2023: Govt

More than 2.16 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2023, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to queries on Indian citizens who have renounced their citizenship in the last five years. In his response, he also shared the corresponding data for 2011-2018. In 2023, the number of Indians who renounced their citizenship stood at 2,16,219 (2.16 lakh). The corresponding figure for 2022 was 2,25,620 (2.25 lakh); 1,63,370 (1.63 lakh) in 2021; 85,256 in 2020; and 1,44,017 (1.44 lakh) in 2019, according to the data. The query from AAP member Raghav Chadha was also on whether the government had taken steps to find the reasons for such "high number of renunciation" and "low acceptance of Indian citizenship" and, if so, the details thereof. He also sought to know whether the government had tried to determine the "financial as well as intellectual drainage" and loss to the country

India will have more contacts with Ukraine & Russia: EAM Jaishankar

India will have more contacts with Ukraine and Russia going forward as such engagements by countries talking to both sides are important to resolve their conflict, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, days after it emerged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit Kyiv next month. Jaishankar said India's position has been that a solution to the conflict will not emerge from the battlefield, and cautioned that it could be "fatalistic" to allow the situation to take its course and wait for events in some other parts of the world to provide some help to end the crisis. "We do believe that we should be more active there," he said during an interactive session at Japan National Press Club. Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Japan. "I can reasonably expect that there will be more contacts between us and Ukraine and between us and Russia as well," he said, replying to a question on reports of Modi's likely visit to Kyiv next month. Declining to give a specific answ

EAM Jaishankar discusses cooperation, issue of trafficking with Laos PM

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday called on Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and raised the issue of trafficking of Indian nationals through cyber scam centres in the Southeast Asian country and discussed development partnership and cooperation in areas like defence and energy. Jaishankar is in the capital of the Laos People's Democratic Republic to participate in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He called on Siphandone along with fellow foreign ministers attending the meeting. "Pleased to call on Lao PDR (People's Democratic Republic) Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. Conveyed the warm greetings of Prime Minister @narendramodi. Discussed our development partnership and cooperation in defence, heritage conservation, energy, digital and capacity building," Jaishankar said in a post on X. Jaishankar said he values Siphandone's guidance on further strengthening close bilateral ties that are deeply rooted in shared civilisation

EAM S Jaishankar discusses bilateral ties with Turkey counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday held a meeting with his Turkiye counterpart Hakan Fidan during which the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and exchanged views on regional and global issues. Jaishankar is in the capital of the Laos People's Democratic Republic to participate in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The two leaders met on the sidelines of the meetings. "Met with FM @HakanFidan of Turkiye on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Vientiane. Discussed our bilateral ties and exchanged views on regional and global issues," Jaishankar posted on X. Jaishankar on Friday met leaders from Russia, the European Union, South Korea, Singapore, Laos, Brunei, and New Zealand and discussed various aspects of bilateral collaboration. "Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of India Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met on the sidelines of #ASEAN events Vientiane, July 26, 2024 #RussiaIndia #DruzhbaDosti," the Russian ...

Foreign Secy Misri co-chairs talks with Bhutan counterpart, reviews ties

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and his Bhutanese counterpart, Aum Pema Choden, reviewed the implementation modalities and cooperation in diverse areas of development partnership under the 13th Five-Year Plan period on Saturday.Misri co-chaired the third Development Cooperation Talks of the 13th Five-Year Plan in Bhutan."Foreign Secretary @VikramMisri & Foreign Secretary Aum Pema Choden co-chaired 3rd Development Cooperation Talks of the 13th Five Year Plan. Reviewed implementation modalities & cooperation in diverse areas of development partnership under 13 FYP period," the Indian Embassy in Bhutan said on X.Further, the two sides expressed satisfaction with several development projects implemented under the 12 FYP."The two sides expressed satisfaction at large number of development projects implemented under 12 FYP in sectors such as connectivity, infrastructure, cultural heritage, health, education, agriculture, sports, skilling, and digital economy," the post ...

EAM Jaishankar, Ukrainian counterpart discuss developing bilateral ties

In June this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy

US ambassador describes ties with India as 'multiplicative relationship'

US ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, on Friday described the ties between the two countries as "multiplicative" and said the world's largest and the oldest democracies are moving forward because they "love each other". Stating that in his 16-17 months as the US ambassador to India, he has visited 23 states and Union territories and stitched together the marvellous view of a country that is rising in the world and of an economy that is the strongest in the developing world. Speaking at an education meet here, Garcetti described the India-United States relations as a "multiplicative" relationship. "It's a relationship not of addition... it's not India plus the United States when India and the US are together, it's a multiplicative relationship," he said. Garcetti said that India and the US are moving forward together because "we love each other." Lauding India's leadership in organising the G20 summit in 2023, he said the two countries are working together on climate change, women

Jaishankar arrives in Mauritius on 2 day visit, set to meet top leadership

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday arrived here for a two-day visit for productive engagements with the leadership of Mauritius to take forward the special bilateral ties. The visit to the Indian Ocean island nation marks one of the first bilateral engagements undertaken by Jaishankar following his re-appointment in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. The visit underscores the importance of the India-Mauritius relationship and is a reflection of India's Neighbourhood First Policy', Vision SAGAR, and commitment to the Global South. He was received at the airport by Maneesh Gobin, Mauritius' Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade. Namaste Mauritius! Thank Foreign Minister @ManeeshGobin for the warm welcome, Jaishankar posted on X along with the photographs. Look forward to productive engagements to take forward this special relationship, he added. Gobin reciprocated his post and said Jaishankar's visit ...

Jaishankar's meeting with Thai counterpart strengthened bilateral ties: MEA

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa have reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation in areas of trade, connectivity and investment. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said this on Sunday, two days after the two foreign ministers held talks on the sidelines of a meeting of the BIMSTEC grouping. "The two ministers reviewed progress across various areas of partnership covering political exchanges, defence and security ties, trade and investment opportunities, connectivity, science and technology collaboration, health cooperation, culture and people-to-people interaction," the MEA said. A key member of the 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) grouping, Thailand is seen by India as a crucial strategic partner in the Southeast Asian region. "The two ministers also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest and reiterated commitment to closer cooperation in sub-regional, regional and multilateral fora," it said. On