Explore Business Standard
Indian Foreign Policy
India and Russia should come out with a creative and innovative approach to confront complex geopolitical challenges, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday amid increasing strains in New Delhi's ties with Washington over its purchase of Russian crude oil. Jaishankar made the remarks at a meeting with Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Moscow. In his televised opening remarks, the external affairs minister said India and Russia should continuously diversify and expand their "agenda" of cooperation including by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and through more joint ventures. "Doing more and doing differently should be our mantras," he said. The comments came against the backdrop of a downturn in relations between India and the US after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. The external affairs minister arrived
Shortly after arriving in the national capital, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Sunday described India as a country of "huge importance" for his nation's prosperity and security even as the two sides announced launching negotiations for a comprehensive free trade pact. On Monday, Luxon will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will deliver a lecture at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue as the chief guest. The Kiwi leader is visiting India from March 16 to 20. He is accompanied by one of the largest delegations a New Zealand prime minister has ever travelled with. "I've landed in India - a country of huge importance to New Zealand's prosperity, security and society. India provides huge economic opportunity for Kiwis," the New Zealand PM said on 'X'. "That's why I'm here and that's why I've brought a senior delegation of business and community leaders with me." Ahead of the Modi-Luxon talks, the two nations announced the launch of
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday held wide-ranging discussions with his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi on bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and energy security. Jaishankar is in the Omani capital here to attend the 8th Indian Ocean Conference. "Delighted to meet FM @badralbusaidi of Oman this morning. Appreciate his personal efforts in successfully hosting the 8th Indian Ocean Conference," Jaishankar posted on X. "Held wide-ranging discussions on our cooperation in trade, investment and energy security," he said. The two leaders jointly released the logo celebrating the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations. They also jointly released a book titled Mandvi to Muscat: Indian Community and the Shared History of India and Oman'. Oman hosts a sizeable Indian community totalling approximately 664,783 individuals as of August 2024, according to the Government of Oman.
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has emphasised that normalising relations with India requires mutual willingness. Speaking with journalists at the Foreign Office here on Thursday, Dar highlighted Pakistan's diplomatic efforts since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government took office last year. When asked about Pakistan's relations with India, he stressed on the importance of mutual effort, and said: It takes two to tango. Dar also announced plans to visit Bangladesh next month and noted that Islamabad and Dhaka are rebuilding ties after the fall of the Hasina government in August last year. Bangladesh is like a lost brother. We aim to strengthen economic and trade cooperation, he said and mentioned that he received an invitation from Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhamad Yunus during a meeting in Cairo recently. Yunus took charge as Chief Adviser after the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power on August 5 last year followi