Page 15 - External Affairs Ministry

India, Malaysia elevate ties to comprehensive strategic partnership

Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim arrived in Delhi for a state visit, his first visit to India as the Malaysian premier and he was warmly received by Union Minister of State, V Somanna at the airport

Nepal foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba begins five-day visit to India

Nepal Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba arrived here on Sunday on a five-day visit with an aim to carry out a comprehensive review of the bilateral ties. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Deuba's visit is a testament to the "unique and close" relationship between the two countries. "Warm welcome to FM @Arzuranadeuba of Nepal as she arrives in New Delhi on an official visit," he posted on 'X'. "The visit continues the tradition of regular high-level bilateral exchanges and is a testament to the unique & close relationship between the two countries," Jaiswal said. Deuba is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday. The Nepalese foreign minister's visit comes a week after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri travelled to Kathmandu. Nepal is an important neighbour for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti Beti" ..

Multilateral bodies didn't solve critical issues faced by global order: EAM

India on Saturday once again strongly pitched for reforms of key multilateral institutions, saying it is an "undeniable" fact that when the global order faced "critical challenges", solutions did not emerge from them. In his address at the third India-hosted virtual Voice of the Global South Summit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also called for facilitating low-cost financing and critical technologies to developing countries. "It is an undeniable fact that even as the global order faced critical challenges, solutions did not emerge from the multilateral domain," he said, calling for revitalising multilateralism. "The reason is both the obsolescence and the polarisation of multilateral organisations," he said, speaking at the foreign ministers' session of the summit. "Here too, India has argued for reformed multilateralism and sought reforms of Multilateral Development Banks through the G20. As a group, we need to press home our case," Jaishankar said. India has been ...

We welcome B'desh govt's focus on minorities, in touch with India too: US

Even as it welcomed the new Bangladesh government's focus on the protection of minority communities, the US has said it is in touch with India and other countries in the region on the situation in the country while seeking an end to the violence there. Amid continued reports on targeted attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, especially the Hindus along with the destruction of temples and their properties after August 5 when Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, several influential US Congressmen have requested the Biden administration to look into these attacks. Chief Advisor to the interim government Yunus Muhammad, who took charge on August 8, met the distressed community at the famous Dhakeshwari temple in Dhaka on Tuesday and assured them that his government would punish the perpetrators. During his daily news conference on Wednesday, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel welcomed Yunus' statement calling for calm and an end to the recent violence. We welcome t

US welcomes India's engagement, efforts for peace in Russia-Ukraine war

The United States welcomes India's engagement in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and its efforts to bring peace between the two countries, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel has said here. Patel was responding to a question on the likely visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ukraine later this month. "I will let the (Indian) prime minister's office speak to any of his own travels. I don't have anything to offer there," he said during his daily news conference on Wednesday. "We are in touch with our Indian partners on a number of issues and, of course, would welcome India's engagement in the war between Russia and Ukraine, especially as it relates to ensuring that we get to a just and durable peace that is reflective of what our Ukrainian partners are attempting to do, which is to defend their territorial integrity and sovereignty," Patel said. Modi is likely to visit Poland and Ukraine from August 21 to 23. No official announcement in this regard has

India keen to advance ties with Bangladesh's interim govt: Indian envoy

India is interested in advancing its relationship with Bangladesh under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma said on Wednesday but did not comment on how long the ousted leader Sheikh Hasina would stay in India. Verma's remarks came after a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Daily Star newspaper reported. "We are interested in advancing our relationship with Bangladesh," Verma told the media after a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nobel laureate Yunus was appointed as the head of the interim government on Tuesday after Prime Minister Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 following widespread protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs. This was the first meeting by the Indian envoy Verma with Touhid Hossain after the formation of the interim government following the fall of the Hasina-led Aw

Every symbol of India-Bangladesh friendship is being attacked: Tharoor

A clash occurred on Tuesday between Bangladesh Army personnel and members of the minority Hindu community protesting with posters of their family members who went missing during the violence

Sheikh Hasina's stay won't impact India-Bangladesh ties, say officials

Bangladesh assures strong ties with India amid political transition, even if Sheikh Hasina remains in India confirmed Bangladeshi government officials

US-India relationship among most consequential in world: White House

White House Press Secretary Pierre said that US works with India on key priorities, including QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) which is a diplomatic partnership with India, Australia and Japan

K Natwar Singh: A staunch Nehru follower who parted ways with Congress

Natwar Singh was External Affairs minister in 2004-05 in Manmohan Singh's government till he was asked to step down after alleged charges of nepotism

EAM meets President Muizzu, says India- Maldives relation top priority

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and other top leaders and assured them that New Delhi attached top priority to its multifaceted relationship with Male and was determined to further its developmental cooperation with the country. Jaishankar's visit to the Maldives is the first high-level trip from New Delhi after the island nation's pro-China president, Muizzu, assumed office in November last year. "This visit is an opportunity to take stock of what our countries have achieved together as well as to chart out an aspirational blueprint for the coming years of what we are confident, will be a truly multifaceted partnership, Jaishankar said after talks with his Maldivian counterpart Moosa Zameer. "The bedrock of our partnership is the mutual benefit of our peoples," he said, noting that this is manifested in diverse sectors of our cooperation health, education, large infrastructure development, defence, maritime, agriculture, ...

MEA, NSIL sign agreement to assist launch of Nepalese Munal satellite

The Ministry of External Affairs and ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) signed an agreement on Saturday to grant assistance for the launching of the Nepal-built Munal satellite, according to an official statement. Munal is an indigenous satellite developed in Nepal under the aegis of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the MEA said. Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN), a Nepalese space startup, has assisted Nepalese students in the design and fabrication of this satellite. The satellite aims to build a vegetation density database of the earth's surface, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the statement. The MoU was signed by Anurag Srivastava, Joint Secretary (North) from MEA and Arunachalam A, Director from NSIL. Rabindra Prasad Dhakal, Secretary, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Surendra Thapa, Charg d'affaires of Nepali Embassy and Abhas Maskey, Founder, Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN) were also present on the ...

Bangladesh's opposition party says Sheikh Hasina must face criminal charges

Hasina, one of Asia's longest-serving leaders, resigned and fled Bangladesh on Aug 5 under pressure from millions of protesters who had taken to the streets for weeks to demand she step down

Foreign minister S Jaishankar reaches Maldives to reset bilateral ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here on a three-day official visit to reset the bilateral relationship with the Maldives, the first high-level trip from India after the archipelago nation's pro-China president Mohamed Muizzu assumed office last year. Jaishankar's trip to the Maldives comes weeks after President Muizzu's visit to India in June to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office in November 2023. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. Subsequently, the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians by May 10, the mutually agreed date. This is the first official visit of Jaishankar to the Maldives since assuming office for a second term in June 2024. His previous visit was in January 2023. Jaishankar's three-day v

Indian Consulate in NY cautions community against 'unscrupulous' agents

Amid instances of unscrupulous elements overcharging members of the Indian community for consular services and other fraudulent activities, India's mission here has cautioned against using such agents and highlighted measures undertaken by it to streamline visa, passport and other services for the diaspora. Consul General of India in New York Binaya Pradhan told reporters here that several instances have come to the notice of the Consulate where various travel agents are "misusing people's trust". They have been charging higher amounts of money in the name of providing services. Such unscrupulous elements have overcharged applicants for assistance in getting Consular services such as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), visa, passport and an emergency certificate. Pradhan cited instances where travel agents have charged as much as USD 450 to provide an emergency certificate to travel to India, while such a service costs only USD 17. The Consulate said it has also come across instances

Bangladesh crisis: In talks with Dhaka amid attacks on Hindus, says govt

In reply to questions by political leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Jaishankar did not rule out the role of foreign countries in the unrest in Bangladesh

Jaishankar chairs all-party meeting, briefs about developments in B'desh

Jaishankar briefed the leaders on how the issue had panned out in Bangladesh and the prevailing situation in the country

EAM Jaishankar assures to facilitate Indian, Sri Lankan fishermen meet

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday assured a delegation of Tamil Nadu fishermen that a meeting between the fishing communities of India and Sri Lanka will be facilitated to discuss the issues affecting them. He also informed that the recent apprehension of Indian fishermen by the Lankan authorities would be taken up at a meeting of the Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group to work out a solution to the problems, Tamil Nadu BJP state chief K Annamalai said. At the meeting in which the government secretaries too participated, Jaishankar mentioned that the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India was summoned over the death of the Rameswaram fisherman, and a strong protest was registered. "The representatives of the fishing community requested that a joint meeting between the representatives of the fishing community of the two countries be facilitated. Our EAM assured that the same would be considered," Annamalai said in a release here. Jaishankar had reaffirmed that the ...

Bangladesh unrest: Cabinet Committee on Security meets to assess situation

The meeting came as Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled her country and landed in India on her way to London

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