Page 11 - Ministry Of External Affairs

CM Mamata urges all to maintain peace in Bengal after Bangladesh crisis

Amid the ongoing unrest in neighbouring Bangladesh, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and avoid provocation. Declining to comment on developments in Bangladesh, the chief minister said it is a matter for the Ministry of External Affairs to respond. "I would appeal to all citizens of West Bengal to maintain peace and avoid all forms of provocation," Banerjee told reporters at the West Bengal assembly. "Whatever decision the Centre takes on this issue, we will abide by it," she said. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday resigned and left the country, several news reports said, amid massive protests against her government that claimed more than 106 lives in the last two days.

Over 1.3 mn Indian students pursuing higher studies abroad in 2024: Govt

Over 13 lakh Indian students are currently pursuing higher studies abroad in 2024, the government informed Parliament on Thursday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared data in a written response in Rajya Sabha to queries on whether the government maintains data of emigrant students going abroad for studies. In his response, Singh shared country-wise details of Indian students studying abroad, spanning 108 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Singapore, Russia, Israel and Ukraine. According to the data shared, as on date, 13,35,878 Indian students are pursuing higher studies abroad in 2024. For 2023, the figure was 13,18,955, while it was 9,07,404 for 2022. In the current year, of the 1,33,5878 Indian students 4,27000 were studying in Canada and 3,37,630 students in the US, 8580 in China, eight in Greece, 900 in Israel, 14 in Pakistan and 2510 in Ukraine. "Indian Missions/Posts abroad constantly engage with Indian ..

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

Indian embassy advises citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Lebanon

Tensions have further escalated after the rocket attack at Golan Heights, allegedly fired by Hezbollah

India, Japan have set $42 billion investment target by 2027: S Jaishankar

'There are currently 1,400 Japanese companies operating in India, and we aim to increase this number,' External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a Quad press briefing

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

S Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with counterparts on sidelines of Asean

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Brunei and New Zealand and discussed various aspects of bilateral collaboration, including education and agriculture technology. 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 held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart from New Zealand, Winston Peters, also the country's deputy prime minister. "Always enjoy meeting DPM & FM @winstonpeters of New Zealand. Discussed education, agriculture technology, Pacific Islands & cricket," Jaishankar said in a post on X. Jaishankar also held a meeting with his counterpart from Brunei, Dato Haji Erywan. The two leaders launched the logo, celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations between India and Brunei. "Confident that our warm and friendly ties will prosper further," Jaishankar said. He also met Laos' Minister of

EAM Jaishankar meets New Zealand Dy PM Peters on sidelines of Asean meet

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of New Zealand Winston Peters on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings in Vientiane, Laos. In his post, the External Affairs minister said he "enjoyed" meeting the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of New Zealand."Always enjoy meeting DPM & FM @winstonpeters of New Zealand. Discussed education, agriculture technology, Pacific Islands & cricket, " the External Affairs minister said on X.Earlier on July 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a congratulatory phone call from his New Zealand counterpart, Christopher Luxon, on his victory for the third time in the general elections and the two leaders, during their interaction, reiterated their firm commitment to take bilateral cooperation to new heights in the years to come."Noting that India-New Zealand ties are anchored in shared democratic values and close people-to-people ties, both leaders reiterated their ...

Jaishankar holds bilateral meetings with counterparts from Asean countries

Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar on Thursday met his counterparts from the Philippines, Enrique A Manalo, and Norway's Espen Barth Eide on the margins of the ASEAN meet and discussed strengthening bilateral collaboration and priorities in the Indo-Pacific region. Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with Timor Leste's Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Cambodia Sok Chenda Sophea. Jaishankar and all other leaders are in the Lao People's Democratic Republic's capital to participate in the Foreign Ministers' Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format of ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). While with his South Asian counterparts, the talks were mostly about bilateral relations and geopolitical situation in the Indo-Pacific, he also discussed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during his meeting with the Norwegian leader. Good to meet Foreign Minister @EspenBarthEide of Norway today. The India

India-UK relationship has enormous possibilities, says EAM Jaishankar

The India-UK relationship has enormous possibilities and realising them meaningfully is the task at hand, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday during talks with his British counterpart David Lammy that focused on galvanising the ties including to push for a free trade pact. Lammy is on a two-day visit to India primarily to reset the overall partnership between the two countries in crucial areas such as trade, defence and security, clean energy, new technologies, digital domain and mobility of people. The British foreign secretary called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said India remains committed to elevating its ties with the UK and welcomes the desire to conclude a mutually beneficial free trade pact. Lammy's visit to New Delhi is the first high-level engagement between India and the UK after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government came to power on July 5. "I do believe that our relationship, it is a very important relationship at the enormous ...

EAM says ministry fully focused on ensuring safety of Indians in Bangladesh

Nearly 1,000 Indian students have returned to India from Bangladesh through various land transit points or by flight, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday as the neighbouring country continued to reel under deadly clashes that reportedly left over 90 people dead. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the MEA is fully focused on ensuring safety and well being of the Indians in Bangladesh. Indian missions in Bangladesh are in regular touch with authorities concerned to ensure safety and security of Indian nationals and students, the MEA said. "Thus far, 778 Indian students have returned to India through various land ports. In addition, around 200 students have returned home by regular flight services through Dhaka and Chittagong airports," it said. Bangladesh has been reeling under deadly clashes with protesting students demanding the Sheikh Hasina-led government to scrap a controversial job quota system. Over 90 people have been killed in the clashes that b

778 Indian students return home from Bangladesh amid ongoing violence

A total of 778 Indian students have returned to India from Bangladesh through various land transit points, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday as the neighbouring country continued to reel under deadly clashes over a controversial job-quota system. Indian missions in Bangladesh are in regular touch with the authorities concerned to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals and students, the MEA said. "Thus far, 778 Indian students have returned to India through various land ports. In addition, around 200 students have returned home by regular flight services through Dhaka and Chittagong airports," the ministry said. Bangladesh is reeling under deadly clashes, with protesting students demanding that the Sheikh Hasina-led government scrap the controversial job-quota system. More than 50 people have been killed in the clashes that broke out weeks ago. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday said the total number of Indian nationals in Bangladesh is ...

Trust led to US selling most exquisite jet engine tech to India: Garcetti

The US Ambassador said that both nations know how to interoperate in their time of need

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

Retired diplomat Vinay Kwatra nominated as new US ambassador to secure ties

Kwatra, who retired as India's foreign secretary earlier this month, will look to bring certainty to the India-US relationship

Review of India's implementation of ICCPR successfully concluded: MEA

A periodic review of India's implementation of the UN-mandated International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was "successfully" concluded on Tuesday by experts of the Human Rights Committee in Geneva. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the review demonstrated India's commitment to engaging with the international human rights framework and its willingness to address concerns, while continuing its efforts towards protection and promotion of the rights of its citizens. The Human Rights Committee carried out the fourth periodic report of India on how it implements the provisions of the ICCPR. The ICCPR, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966, is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals. It came into force in 1976. India has undergone three ICCPR reviews in the past -- the last being in 1997. "India successfully concluded its fourth periodic review by the Human Rights Committee under the Internationa

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 ...

Vikram Misri takes charge as foreign secy: all you need to know about him

A 1989-batch IFS officer, Vikram Misri served as an ambassador in Beijing during the Galwan clash and as deputy secy for Pakistan desk in MEA during the Kargil War