Ministry Of External Affairs

VP Dhankhar meets Armenian delegation, discusses strengthening ties, trade

They also discussed the importance of parliamentary exchanges in further consolidating India-Armenia relations

Prez Xi stressed improving ties during meeting with PM Modi: Chinese FM

Chinese Foreign Minister added that Beijing is working with New Delhi to find the right and bright path for big, neighbouring countries to live in harmony and develop side by side

Norway-India ties at their very best and growing: Norwegian envoy Stener

Norwegian Ambassador to India, May-Elin Stener expressed support for the 10-point peace plan and said that India is contributing towards conflict resolution just like Norway

Sri Lanka President's India tour: Energy, defence ties to be ramped up

The proposal for establishing a pipeline between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka is expected to ensure an affordable and reliable supply of fuel to Sri Lanka

RITES shares up 4% on Rs 298-cr order win from Ministry of External Affairs

The rise in RITES share price came after the company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 297.67 crore from the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India

Opening of Moldova's embassy in India will deepen ties: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said the opening of an embassy of Moldova in New Delhi opens a "new chapter" that will further the partnership between the two countries and help in advancing collaboration in key areas. "Let me express the expectation, hope that in the not very distant future, you will see an Indian embassy in Moldova as well," the minister said in his address at an event held here to mark the opening of the embassy. Jaishankar termed the opening of the embassy a "significant milestone" in the relationship between India and Moldova, an east European country. "Every time an embassy opens here, I know we have done something right," he said. The opening of various new embassies or consulates of India abroad in the last few years is "a reflection of India's growing engagement with the world". And in this particular case, a statement of a deeper friendship between the two countries, he said. "This moment reflects the shared commitments of our nations si

Sri Lankan prez Dissanayake meets FM Sitharaman to discuss economic ties

Earlier on Sunday, Dissanayake also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval

Foreign policy changes are vital for India's growth: EAM S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said there must be "a foreign policy for Viksit Bharat" as he underlined that changes in foreign policy are needed amid a changing landscape. In his address at the launch of 'India's World' magazine here, he also said "when we speak about changing foreign policy, if there is talk of a post-Nehruvian construct, it should not be treated as a political attack". Foreign policy expert C Raja Mohan chairs the editorial board of the magazine. The external affairs minister said there are "four big factors" which should cause people in India to actually ask themselves as to "what are the changes which are necessary in a foreign policy". "One, and I happened, by coincidence, to speak about it yesterday, for many, many years, we had what someone else very pithily summed up as the 'Nehru development model'. That was book released yesterday by Dr Arvind Panagariya," he said. A 'Nehru development model', inevitably produced a 'Nehru foreign polic

Moldovan Foreign Minister Popsoi arrives in India for first official visit

Mihail Popsoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, arrived in India on Sunday, on his first official visit to India.Sharing a post on X, Randhir Jaiswal, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson wrote, "Warm welcome to Deputy PM & FM @MihaiPopsoi of Moldova on his first official visit to India.""His visit will deepen India-Moldova bilateral ties and foster a stronger partnership," the post added.Popsoi will be on an official visit to India from December 15 to 17.The MEA earlier in a press release said that the official schedule of Popsoi will begin on Sunday, December 15, with him arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Terminal 3, at 05:15 am (IST).Later in the evening, at 08:00 PM, he will meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at Hotel ITC Maurya.On Monday, December 16, Popsoi will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Rajghat.The visit will conclude on Tuesday, December 17, with Popsoi's departure from Delhi.Notably, ...

India dispatches 60 tonnes of emergency medical assistance to Jamaica

India has dispatched a fresh consignment of around 60 tons of emergency medical equipment, generators, and other utilities to Jamaica which will support the country's healthcare needs and enhance their disaster preparedness.Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal shared the details of the humanitarian assistance on Saturday."India sends Humanitarian Assistance to Jamaica. A consignment of approx 60 tons of emergency medical equipment, Gensets & other utilities has departed for Jamaica. This assistance will support health care needs and rehabilitation of medical infrastructure as well as strengthen the disaster preparedness of against Hurricanes," Jaiswal stated in a post on X.India and Jamaica share strong historical and cultural linkages, reflected in their shared colonial past, values of democracy and freedom, and passion for cricket.Recently, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness paid his first-ever visit

Indian nationals return from crisis-hit Syria, recall panic situation

A batch of Indian nationals, who returned to their homeland on Saturday after being evacuated from crisis-hit Syria, recalled the panic situation they faced in that country but praised the Indian Embassy there for being in "constant touch" with them. Some of the returnees, soon after landing at the Delhi airport late evening, shared with media their experiences of the last week. Sunil Dutt, a native of Chandigarh, and a mechanical engineer, alleged that there were some "anti-social elements" too in the streets who were also "looting stuff". It was a very bad situation and sights of fire and sounds of bombarding made it worse, he said. However, the Indian Embassy was in "constant touch with us" and its personnel" asked us to be calm, not open doors" to ensure safety, Dutt told reporters at Delhi airport. India has evacuated from Syria all its nationals who wished to return home after rebel forces overthrew President Bashar Assad's authoritarian government in the Arab nation. The S

India may renegotiate DTAA with Switzerland over EFTA trade pact: MEA

India on Friday said its double taxation treaty with Switzerland may require renegotiation in view of its trade pact with the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The remarks by the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came after the Swiss government suspended the most favoured nation status (MFN) clause in the India-Switzerland Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). "My understanding is that with Switzerland, because of EFTA, the double taxation treaty that we have; it's going to be renegotiated. That is one aspect of it," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. He was responding to a question on the issue at his weekly media briefing. India and the EFTA member states of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein sealed a free trade deal in March. Under the mega trade deal, the four European countries are looking at making an investment of USD 100 billion in India over the next 15 years. The trade pact is yet to come into force.

India-UAE 'model' relationship to expand energy, trade ties: Jaishankar

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday discussed implementation of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and resolved to shore up energy cooperation including long-term supplies and collaboration in upstream and downstream projects. Ways to further deepen bilateral relations in areas of energy, connectivity and trade figured prominently at the 15th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) that was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The meeting was held in New Delhi. In his televised opening remarks at the JCM, Jaishankar described the India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership as a "model" relationship and that the economic and commercial ties are not only very strong but increasingly "diversified and deep". "Since the entry into force of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in May 2022, trade has steadily grown and it has now reached a level o

India Post, MEA sign pact for 600 new Passport Seva Kendras at POs: Scindia

The Department of Posts and the Ministry of External Affairs have signed an agreement to set up an additional 600 passport seva kendras at post offices, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday. Speaking at the India Economic Enclave 2024, the minister said India Post has about 6,40,000 points of sales across the country and no one in the world can match its scale. "In the next 3-4 years, we will become a citizen-centric service. We have signed an agreement with the MEA today where we will set up 600 more networks for passport seva kendras, hopefully servicing one crore citizens per year through our network," the minister said. Launched in 2017, the Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) service has been instrumental in facilitating passport-related services to over 1.52 crore citizens. The network of POPSKs has grown significantly over the years, with 442 centres operational nationwide. According to an official note, the 600 POPSKs centres will be set up acr

India has evacuated all nationals who wished to return from Syria: MEA

India has evacuated from Syria all its nationals who wished to return home after rebel forces overthrew President Bashar Assad's authoritarian government in the Arab nation. The Syrian government collapsed on Sunday as the rebels seized control of capital Damascus after capturing several other prominent cities and towns. India evacuated its nationals from Syria on Tuesday. "We have evacuated all Indian nationals in Syria who wished to return home following recent developments in that country. So far, 77 Indian nationals from Syria have been evacuated," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday. Our embassy personnel in Damascus accompanied them to the border, after which our mission in Lebanon received them and facilitated their immigration, he said. He was replying to a question at his weekly media briefing. Jaiswal said the embassy made arrangements for their boarding and lodging in Beirut and for their travel back home. "Most of our nationals have

Indian forces reach all patrolling points in Depsang, Ladakh: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that security forces would be going to all patrolling points in Depsang in Ladakh and also to the eastward limit which are historically been India's patrolling limit. He said in Lok Sabha that the last of the disengagement agreement with China was related to Depsang and Demchok. "I want to convey that it was mentioned in my (previous) statement (in Parliament) that the understanding envisaged that Indian security forces would be going to all patrolling points in Depsang, and would be going to the eastward limit which are historically been our patrolling limit in that part," he said during Question Hour. The minister said in the same statement, he has made it clear that India had disengagement agreements with China in the past too. "Those disengagement agreements also had certain provisions where both sides on a temporary basis had agreed to put certain restraint on themselves. So I think the position is very clear in that ...

PM Modi discusses India-Middle East-Europe corridor with UAE dy PM: MEA

The two leaders emphasized strengthening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership including in the areas of technology, energy, and people-to-people ties, as per MEA statement

86 Indians attacked or murdered in various countries in 2023: Centre

Eighty-six Indian nationals were attacked or murdered in various countries in 2023, the government informed the Parliament on Thursday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared the data in a written response to a query. In his response, he shared country-wise data for the the last three years. The figures were -- 29 in 2021, 57 in 2022 and 86 in 2023. In 2023, out of the 86 Indian nationals who were attacked or murdered, the figures for the US stood at 12, while it was 10 each for Canada, the UK and Saudi Arabia, as per the data shared. "The safety and security of Indians abroad is one of the foremost priorities for the government of India. Our Missions and Posts remain vigilant and closely monitor any untoward incident. Such incidents are immediately taken up with the concerned authorities of the host country to ensure that the cases are properly investigated and the perpetrators are punished," he said. These issues are also raised during meetings with t

Attacks on vessels in Red sea impact our trade: Centre tells Parliament

India remains "concerned" at the evolving situation in West Asia and attacks against commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea threaten freedom of navigation and "impact our trade", the government informed the Parliament on Thursday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a query also said the government has "raised the issue" with the countries in the region and the Indian Missions are "closely monitoring" the situation to mitigate its impact. He was asked about the details of special measures that are being taken by the government to safeguard India's energy security in view of the possible disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea due to the Israel-Iran conflict and the diplomatic efforts being made by the government to mitigate the impact of this conflict on India's trade routes, especially the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. "India remains concerned at the evolving situation in West Asia. Attacks against commercial vessels i

'Frank, candid, constructive': Foreign secretary Misri on Bangladesh talks

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefs Parliamentary Standing Committee on India-Bangladesh relations after Dhaka visit