Page 8 - External Affairs Ministry

Kuwait fire tragedy: 22 from Kerala dead; 6 hospitalised with injuries

The NORKA official said that they have unofficial reports that 22 people from Kerala have been confirmed dead and that the identities of 15 of them have been confirmed

Kuwait fire: Jaishankar discusses early repatriation of bodies of Indians

Jaishankar said that he was assured that the incident would be fully investigated

Focus will be to resolve remaining issues along border: EAM on China ties

India will focus on resolving the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, amid the over four-year border row in eastern Ladakh that significantly strained ties between the two Asian giants. Shortly after taking charge of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for the second term, Jaishankar, referring to cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan, said the efforts will be to address the challenge and that it (support to terrorism) "cannot be the policy of a good neighbour." Jaishankar, 69, was among the senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman who retained the ministries that they handled in the previous government. He said "Bharat First" (India First) and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) will be the two guiding axioms of Indian foreign policy of the new government. "As for Pakistan and China, they are different countries and our

EAM Jaishankar reaffirms Quad's commitment towards ensuring peace, security

Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific

Capacity building important facet of India's engagement with Maldives: MEA

Capacity building is an "important component" in India's defence and security engagement with the Maldives and "we will be happy to take it forward" if New Delhi receives a request from Male for training their pilots, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. Randhir Jaiswal, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, made the comment during his weekly briefing in response to a query over reports on issues related to operation of an aviation platform in the Maldives. Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives to operate two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft, used primarily for medical evacuations. The last batch of Indian military personnel were repatriated by May 10, according to the deadline set following an agreement between the two countries in February. The MEA spokesperson said, "Yes, capacity building is an important component in our defence and security engagement with the Maldives. We have in the past trained their personnel on the defence si

LS Polls 2024 updates: BJP releases star candidate list, MEA slams US

Lok Sabha elections 2024: From PM Modi's election campaign in Maharashtra to Rahul Gandhi's bike rally in Odisha, here are the latest updates in politics on May 15

India to sign 10-year agreement with Iran to manage Chabahar Port

Chabahar Port will serve as a vital link connecting India to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the broader Eurasian region

What is stopping govt from cancelling Revanna's passport, asks Congress

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday asked the government what is stopping it from cancelling the diplomatic passport of suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is accused of sexual abuse. The 33-year-old Hassan MP reportedly flew to Germany soon after the Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order a probe into the sexual allegations against him after scores of explicit videos and pictures went viral on social media. In a post on X, Ramesh questioned how Prajwal was allowed to escape. "What is stopping the PM from having the diplomatic passport to Prajwal Revanna cancelled? How and why was he allowed to flee the country like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi were?" the Congress leader asked. Prajwal, the grandson of Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, has been accused of sexual assault after several videos allegedly featuring him with multiple wome

G20 summit satisfying, forging friendships most significant: EAM Jaishankar

If closing out the G20 Summit was the most satisfying moment of his career, the most significant was being associated with "enormous changes in some crucial relationships" such as the US, Australia, UAE and Japan during the last five years, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar says. "These relationships have really changed tremendously in the last five years, last decade. And, the growth of the Quad, again that is something that we tried a decade and a half ago, not succeeded, did it a second time. This time it actually, really worked," Jaishankar told PTI in an exclusive interview at the news agency's headquarters. Jaishankar spoke on a range of issues in the nearly hour-long interview including his view of the world in 10 years from now, the challenges faced by India, and the rising profile of the country in the international arena under his watch. Hosting the G20 Summit last year "wasn't just the hard work", because in many ways the "prestige of the country" was riding on it, he said.

Ready to work with India to find solutions to issues: China's new envoy

China is ready to work with India to "accommodate" each other's concerns and find a mutually acceptable solution to "specific issues" through dialogue at an early date, Beijing's new envoy to New Delhi Xu Feihong has said, remarks that came against the backdrop of the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh. An Assistant Minister ranked official, Xu, 60, appointed by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the sensitive job, said he regards his posting in New Delhi as an honourable mission and a sacred duty to improve and advance the bilateral ties. "It is an honourable mission and a sacred duty. I will do my best to deepen understanding and friendship between the two peoples, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and improve and advance the bilateral relationship," Xu told PTI and China's state-run CGTN-TV in a media interaction here before leaving for New Delhi to take up his posting. "China is ready to work with India to accommodate each other's concerns, find a ...

India, Moldova sign visa waiver pact for diplomatic passports holders

India and Moldova on Friday signed an agreement which after coming into force, will allow diplomatic and official passports holders of either country to travel to the other without a visa, the Ministry of External Affairs said. This agreement will add "further momentum" to the friendly and cordial relations between the two countries, it said. "Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India and Ana Taban, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Moldova, on behalf of their respective governments, signed an agreement on visa waiver for diplomatic and official passports, today on 10 May," the statement said. This agreement, after coming into force "will allow holders of diplomatic and official passports of either country to travel to the other, without a visa", it said.

India seen as 'friendly, fair' as well as 'firm, fiery' nation: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said India today is not only seen across the globe as "friendly and fair" but also as a "firm and fiery" nation that cares for its people and fends for them in crisis situations. Jaishankar made the remarks while speaking on the topic "Viksit Bharat @2047-The Voice of the Youth" at an event at the Delhi University's Hansraj college. He was referring to the rescue operations run by India to bring back its citizens from war-torn countries such as Ukraine. "Viksit Bharat" is not a mere slogan to motivate the people but is the foundation built in the last 10 years upon which the future of India's next 25 years will be built, Jaishankar said while addressing students. "The next 25 years of the 'Amrit Kaal' are your future. It is the journey towards 'Viksit Bharat', and it is you who will make this journey possible," he said. The external affairs minister said that he sees these 25 years as "a period of opportunity and new challenge". "

Within 6 yrs, India achieved 80% financial inclusion: Ruchira Kamboj

'Within six years, India has achieved an 80% financial inclusion rate, a feat that would have taken decades without such digital infrastructure,' she said

India challenging ratings that influence sense of stability: EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said India has started challenging a lot of ratings and reports that influence the "sense of stability in India". According to him, these exercises of bringing out ratings and reports are "doing real harm" to the country. Jaishankar also expressed his surprise over the "complete coincidence" of the "same set of people" allegedly bringing out ratings and reports on India and expressing their opinion on the country repeatedly and consistently. It's very interesting in many cases, when you have these ratings. If somebody actually bothers to go through it, you will find the names of people who've been consulted and you'd be amazed how many reports are produced in the world about India, and how the same set of people are consulted -- complete coincidence. They just happen to express their opinion again and again consistently to different people, he remarked. The EAM was replying to a question by Aarin Capital chairman and former Infosys .

Iran to allow Indian officials to meet 17 crew members of seized MSC Aries

Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said that Tehran will "soon" allow Indian authorities to meet 17 Indian crew members of a cargo vessel that was seized by Iran's military near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. Amir-Abdollahian conveyed this to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a telephonic conversation on Sunday, according to an Iranian foreign ministry readout. It said Amir-Abdollahian also apprised details of Iran's "legitimate defence" and punitive measures against the Israeli regime, in a reference to Tehran's missile and drone attacks on the Jewish nation. The Iranian foreign minister urged the Indian government to maintain its active role through international bodies, including the United Nations Security Council, to halt the war in Gaza as it is at the core of the current crisis in the region, the readout said. In the talks, Jaishankar called for the release of the Indians onboard the Portuguese-flagged cargo vessel MSC Aries. The Indian for

Kwatra meets key US officials, reviews progress of strategic partnership

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra has met several US senior officials, including Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks, to undertake a detailed review of the progress on further consolidating the bilateral strategic ties and discussed their shared efforts to promote stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Kwatra is in the US this week for a series of meetings with senior officials of the US government and interaction with industry leaders to advance bilateral cooperation in areas like defence and technology. Hicks and Kwatra discussed priorities for strengthening the US-India defence partnership, including the implementation of the roadmap for the US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation, Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon said. The two officials underscored the historic momentum in the Major Defence Partnership in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to an official statement. They applauded the efforts by both countries to advance the co-production of fight

India's infra budget on China border rose after 2014: S Jaishankar

EAM said agreements between the two nations will have to be adhered to, adding that China, during the Covid pandemic, broke an understanding that both sides will not bring more than 5,000 troops

Foreign Secy Kwatra holds meetings with US officials, industry leaders

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra is here this week for a series of meetings with senior officials from the US Government and interaction with industry leaders to advance bilateral cooperation in areas like defence and technology. Kwatra held separate meetings with Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources and Kurt Campbell, Deputy Secretary of State at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. Productive catch up with Indian Foreign Secretary Kwatra on advancing ongoing US-India cooperation and the need for our countries' close partnership for regional security and prosperity, Verma said in a post of X. Earlier in the day, Kwatra was hosted by the US India Business Council over a breakfast meeting with its Board Chair and NASDAQ Executive Vice Chairman Ed Knight. They engaged in discussions on deepening investment channels, fostering innovation and technology, and strengthening the commercial ties between our countries, the USIBC said in a pos

'Sound and stable ties' serve common interests: China on PM Modi's comment

China on Thursday said that "sound and stable ties" serve the common interests of China and India as it reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that for New Delhi, ties with Beijing are important and the prolonged situation at the borders should be addressed urgently. In an interview with Newsweek magazine, which described India's rise as "unstoppable", Prime Minister Modi expressed hope that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, the two countries will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquillity at their borders. China has noted the remarks by the prime minister, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here when asked for her reaction to Modi's statement. We believe that sound and stable China, India relations serve the common interests of both sides and are conducive to peace and development of the region and beyond, she said. In his interview, which is the first to be given to

Missing Indian student found dead in Cleveland, 11th case in US in 2024

Mohammed Abdul Arfath had moved to the US in 2023 for a Master's degree; his father says he got ransom call