Page 7 - Ministry Of External Affairs

Free, open Indo-Pacific vital for peace, progress of region: PM Modi

Prime Minister Modi underscored that the Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) is at the centre of India's Indo-Pacific vision and Quad cooperation

PM Modi arrives in Laos, set to attend Asean-India, East Asia summits

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in Laos on a two-day visit to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits to further deepen engagement with countries in the groupings. Modi is visiting Lao PDR on the invitation of Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. Laos is the current chair of the ASEAN. During the visit, Modi will participate in the 21st ASEAN-India and the 19th East Asia summits. In his departure statement, Modi noted that India is marking a decade of Act East policy this year. "I will join the ASEAN leaders to review progress in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and chart the future direction of our cooperation," the prime minister said. The East Asia Summit will provide an opportunity to deliberate on the challenges to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, he said. Modi said India shared close cultural and civilisation ties with the region, including with the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), which is enriched by a shared .

Summit an opportunity to discuss challenges to peace in East Asia: PM Modi

PM Modi said that he looks forward to his meetings with Laos leadership to further strengthen bilateral ties and expressed confidence that the visit will further deepen engagement with Asean countries

Centre to create a database of citizens moving abroad for work, education

During a high-level meeting chaired by Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, discussions focused on improving coordination between the Ministry of External Affairs and NITI Aayog

PM Modi to attend 21st Asean-India Summit in Laos on October 10,11

Asean-India Summit will review the progress of India-Asean relations through Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and chart the future direction of cooperation

PM Modi to visit Laos on Oct 10, 11 for Asean-India, East Asia summits

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Laos on October 10 and 11 during which he will attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday. Laos is the current chair of ASEAN. On the invitation of his Laos counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister Modi will visit Vientiane on October 10-11, the MEA said in a statement. During the visit, Modi will attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit being hosted by Laos as the current chair of ASEAN, it said. Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the margins of the two summits, according to the MEA. "India is marking a decade of the Act East Policy this year. Relations with ASEAN are a central pillar of the Act East Policy and our Indo-Pacific vision," the MEA said. The ASEAN-India Summit will review the progress of India-ASEAN relations through "our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" and chart the future direct

MEA names Sanjeev Singla, Ajit Gupte as ambassadors to France, Germany

Singla presently serves as the Ambassador of India to Israel; Gupte is presently the Ambassador of India to Egypt

Delegates from Indian, Maldivian side exchange five MoUs, says MEA

Muizzu who arrived in India on Sunday on a five-day visit was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier today

India advocated for peaceful solution to Indo-Pacific disputes: Rajnath

India has consistently advocated for a peaceful resolution to disputes and has sought to promote cooperation among nations in the Indo-Pacific, with a strong emphasis on the centrality ofEAN, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday. His remarks come amid China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the region. In his address at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) 2024 here, he also expressed concern over "certain attempts to monopolise and weaponise critical resources for strategic reasons", terming these tendencies as not conducive for the global good. Singh emphasised that India's engagement with its partners is guided by the understanding that true progress can only be achieved through collective action and synergy, and due to these efforts, it is now considered as a "credible and preferred security partner and first responder" in the region. "India's vision for the Indo-Pacific is based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu likely to visit India on October 7

This will notably be the second time that Muizzu is visiting India this year after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this June

Iranian missile attacks on Israel: MEA urges restraint, calls for diplomacy

New Delhi has issued a travel advisory against non-essential visits to Iran

India urges Israel, Iran to exercise restraint, issues advisory for Indians

The Ministry of External Affairs also issued travel advisory, urging Indian citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Iran

Don't feel bad if India comments on internal affairs: EAM to US think tank

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday told the Americans that they do not feel bad when India responds to their comments on its internal affairs. If you look at State to State, government to government level, we think it's important that democracies are mutually respectful. It cannot be that one democracy has a right to comment on another and that's part about promoting democracy globally, but when others do that, then it becomes foreign interference, Jaishankar said in response to a question at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a top American think-tank. Foreign interference is foreign interference irrespective of who does it and where it is not. So, it's a testy area and my personal view, which I have shared with many, you have every right to comment, but I have every right to comment on your comment. So don't feel bad when I do this, Jaishankar said in response to a question. The US and India are among the world's leading countries with democratic forms

India has major role for peace in Gaza, Ukraine: UK Labour Party Councillor

On conflict in Palestine, he said, 'It's high time that the powers, that is the Anglo-American alliance, stepped in and called for an immediate ceasefire because that is something needed urgently'

Jamaican PM Andrew Holness to pay four-day visit to India starting Monday

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness will pay a four-day visit to India beginning Monday to solidify bilateral ties in a range of key areas including trade and investment. It will be the first ever bilateral visit of a prime minister of Jamaica to India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Holness have met several times on the sidelines of multilateral meetings. "This visit is expected to bolster bilateral relations, enhance economic cooperation, and solidify the longstanding bonds between Jamaica and India," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, announcing the trip. Holness will hold delegation-level talks with PM Modi and call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. "The visit will also provide an opportunity to Prime Minister Holness to meet with other dignitaries and interact with trade and industry leaders," the MEA said. It said a number of MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit of the Jamaican prime minister that would give a fillip

This is only 'karma': EAM S Jaishankar slams Pakistan in UNGA address

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said Pakistan's cross-border terrorism will never succeed and its actions will "certainly have consequences", stressing that it is "karma" that the country's ills are now consuming its own society. In his address to the General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Jaishankar also said that the issue to be resolved between India and Pakistan is now only the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan, and the abandonment of its long standing attachment to terrorism. Many countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control, but some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences. A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan, he said. Today we see the ills it (Pakistan) sought to visit on others consume its own society. It can't blame the world. This is only karma, he said. Jaishankar said Pakistan's cross border terrorism policy will never succeed, and it can have no expectation

No new change in OCI guidelines: Consulate General of India in US

The Consulate General of India in New York has refuted reports about restrictions being placed on Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders, asserting that "no new change" has been introduced recently. "We have come across news reports spreading false information that restrictions have been placed on OCI cardholders in the recent past," the consulate said in a post on X. "Friends in the Indian American community are hereby informed that no new change has been introduced in the recent past for OCI card holders," it said, adding that provisions of the notification dated March 4, 2021, about the rights of OCI cardholders "continue to remain in force". It urged diaspora members to check the official website of the OCI services and its web page detailing frequently asked questions about it. An OCI cardholder is granted multiple entry, multi-purpose, life-long visa for visiting India, exempted from registration with the Foreign Regional Registration Officer for any length of stay in ..

India pledges Rs 47.4 cr for construction of 12 impactful projects in Nepal

India has pledged NRs 474 million to build 12 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal in the education, health, agriculture, drinking water and culture sectors, according to an official statement. The Embassy of India here and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration of the Nepalese government signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for the projects on Friday. The 12 projects are being undertaken with the grant assistance of NRs 474 million from the Indian government. These include the construction of school buildings and a multipurpose foundation building, according to a press release issued by the Embassy of India here. The projects also include the constructions of the Basepu-Hulu Water Supply Project in Solukhumbu, a building for the Agriculture Promotion Centre for Food Grain Collection and Distribution Centre in Bajura, a Health Post-Birthing Centre in Dhading, and the Operation Theatre Building of Rapti Eye Hospital in Dang. These ...

Peace on border must for progress in India-China ties: EAM Jaishankar

The India-China relationship would influence the future of the entire world, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while making it clear that peace needed to be restored on the border first for bilateral ties to move forward. Addressing an event hosted by the Asia Society and the Asia Society Policy Institute here on Tuesday, Jaishankar noted India's difficult history with China and said the parallel rise of the two countries presented a very, very unique problem. I think the India-China relationship is key to the future of Asia. In a way, you can say that if the world is to be multi-polar, Asia has to be multi-polar. And therefore this relationship will influence not just the future of Asia, but in that way, perhaps the future of the world as well, Jaishankar said at the event titled India, Asia and the World'. You have two countries who are neighbours, unique in the sense that they are the only two countries with over a billion people, both rising in the global order and who

PM Modi calls for ceasefire in West Asia, release of hostages, dialogue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a ceasefire in West Asia, the release of hostages and a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy as he stressed that only a two-state solution will deliver enduring peace and stability in the volatile region. Modi expressed deep concern at the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza and the deteriorating security situation in the region during his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the margins of the Summit of the Future here on Monday. He reaffirmed India's unwavering support to the people of Palestine, including continued humanitarian assistance, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Prime Minister Modi "reiterated India's time-tested principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue, and called for a ceasefire, the release of hostages and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy," it said. He stressed that only a two-state solution will deliver enduring peace and stability in the region. Recallin