Sushma meets three foreign ministers in three days

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has interacted with the foreign ministers of three countries - North Korea, Australia and Belarus - in three consecutive days.

She met her North Korean counterpart Ri Su Yong on Monday, Australia's Julie Bishop the following day, and Belarus' Vladimir Makei on Wednesday.

The visit of Ri was the first by a North Korean foreign minister to India.

During the meeting, which was held in a "frank and friendly atmosphere", issues of mutual interest, including India's security concerns, came up for discussion.

Sushma Swaraj conveyed to Ri "the significance of peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula for India's Act East policy".

Ri was visiting India at the invitation of Sushma Swaraj.

Sushma Swaraj held talks with Julie Bishop on Tuesday, at the 10th India-Australia Foreign Ministers Framework Dialogue (FMFD).

The dialogue was held in a friendly and cooperative atmosphere with exchange of views on all focus areas of interest. The two leaders recognised the importance of finalising a mutually beneficial Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), encouraged strong business links and highlighted the role of the CEOs' Forum and Make in India Show to be held in Australia later in the year.

Both sides also explored ways for an early conclusion of the Administrative Arrangements on civil nuclear cooperation to facilitate the flow of uranium.

Both leaders also expressed satisfaction with ongoing cooperation in defence and security, and discussed measures to further enhance regional cooperation in view of recent developments in the Asia-Pacific region.

They also discussed cooperation in the area of skill development and Sushma Swaraj emphasised the need to expedite investigation on the tragic stabbing of Prabha Arun Kumar, an Indian IT consultant employed with Bangalore-based tech firm MindTree, on March 8 in Sydney.

Swaraj and Bishop agreed to strengthen cooperation to upgrade the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad, establish a Sports University in India and exchange expertise for water management projects, including the Clean Ganga programme.

Bishop extended an invitation to Swaraj to visit Australia, which she accepted.

On Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj met Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei and the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest. Makei also met President Pranab Mukherjee.

Makei is also set to meet with executives of Indian companies Mahindra & Mahindra, Sonalika, JV Gokal and ZF India.