Page 17 - External Affairs Ministry

Deeply Biased, driven by votebank: India on US' religious freedom report

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the report selectively picked incidents to advance a preconceived narrative against India

India sees Africa as natural partner; will be at top of our priorities: EAM

Describing India-Africa ties as "deep-rooted", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said Africa will be at the "top of our priorities", and New Delhi looks forward to a mutually beneficial and respectful relationship in the true spirit of being a 'Vishwa Bandhu'. In his address at an event held here to celebrate Africa Day, he also said India has expanded its diplomatic footprint in Africa with the total number of Indian missions in that continent now standing at 45. The Union minister shared some data and information related to India-Africa ties in multiple sectors, from education to infrastructure, and said for all these reasons and more, "India and Africa must engage and must work together very closely". He recalled the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 when he said -- 'India's priority is not just Africa; India's priority is Africans -- every man, woman and child in Africa. Our partnership with Africa is beyond strategic concerns and economic benefits. I

Iran, Bahrain to discuss resuming diplomatic relations severed since 2016

Iran and Bahrain have agreed to talk about how they might resume bilateral relations after nearly eight years, Iranian media reported Monday. The report by state-run IRNA news agency said Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing Asian Cooperation Dialogue in Tehran. The report said both sides agreed on creating the framework to start talks on the requirements for resuming diplomatic relations. This is al-Zayani's second visit to Tehran in a month. The first came during the memorial for President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May. Bahrain cut its diplomatic relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Tehran following Riyadh's execution of an opposition Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran in 2016. Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed their diplomatic relations in 2023.

EAM Jaishankar reviews 'multi-faceted' strategic ties with UAE counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has reviewed with his United Arab Emirates counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan the multi-faceted India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership and discussed new areas with "untapped potential" to enhance collaboration, an official statement said on Monday. Jaishankar, who was in the UAE on Sunday, also exchanged views with Al Nahyan on regional and global issues. He visited the iconic BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi and participated in the 10th International Yoga Day celebrations before meeting Al Nahyan. The two foreign ministers "reviewed the multi-faceted India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi said on Monday. They expressed "happiness at the substantive progress in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation, including commercial and economic collaboration, fintech, education, culture, and people-to-people connect," it said in a statement. The ministry said the two ministers ...

Jaishankar visiting UAE today, to hold talks with his counterpart Al Nahyan

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is travelling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday to hold wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Besides bilateral issues, Jaishankar and Al Nahyan are expected to deliberate on the overall situation in Gaza. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Jaishankar's visit will provide an opportunity to review the entire spectrum of comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the UAE as well as regional and global developments. "External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to the UAE today," it said in a brief statement. "During the visit, the external affairs minister will have meeting with his UAE counterpart on wide-ranging issues of the partnership," it said. The ties between India and the UAE are on an upswing in the last few years. Following the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries were

Kuwait fire: EAM did good job to help injured Indians, says Suresh Gopi

Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi on Friday said that the External Affairs Ministry did a "wonderful" job in coordinating the efforts to ensure treatment of the Indians injured in the Kuwait fire tragedy which claimed atleast 49 lives. The Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum also said that he has cancelled his other programmes for the day and would be going to the international airport here to receive the bodies of the Malayalees who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy. Meanwhile, Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters here that the bodies of 23 Malayalees, 7 Tamilians and one person from Karnataka would be received here, before the flight carrying the mortal remains of the other Indians who died in the fire goes to Delhi. Rajan said that arrangements have been made for public display of the mortal remains at the airport and thereafter, they would be sent to the families by ambulances that have been arranged by the Department of Non-Resident Keralites' Affairs ...

G7 Summit: Hopeful of productive discussions with world leaders, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he was looking forward to engaging in productive discussions with world leaders at the G7 Summit on Friday to address global challenges and foster international cooperation for a brighter future. The Prime Minister's comments came as he arrived in Apulia, southern Italy, to attend the Outreach session of the G7 Summit. Tomorrow (Friday) is a packed day for him. We have several bilateral meetings with world leaders lined up. He will also be addressing the Outreach session of the G7 Summit, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a video message from the Brindisi Airport. During his day-long visit, Modi will be participating in a summit session entitled Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa-Mediterranean to be hosted by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and joined by Pope Francis. The Pope is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Modi, who has a series of meetings scheduled with the world leaders on the sidelin

Kuwait fire tragedy: 22 from Kerala dead; 6 hospitalised with injuries

The NORKA official said that they have unofficial reports that 22 people from Kerala have been confirmed dead and that the identities of 15 of them have been confirmed

Kuwait fire: Jaishankar discusses early repatriation of bodies of Indians

Jaishankar said that he was assured that the incident would be fully investigated

Focus will be to resolve remaining issues along border: EAM on China ties

India will focus on resolving the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, amid the over four-year border row in eastern Ladakh that significantly strained ties between the two Asian giants. Shortly after taking charge of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for the second term, Jaishankar, referring to cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan, said the efforts will be to address the challenge and that it (support to terrorism) "cannot be the policy of a good neighbour." Jaishankar, 69, was among the senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman who retained the ministries that they handled in the previous government. He said "Bharat First" (India First) and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) will be the two guiding axioms of Indian foreign policy of the new government. "As for Pakistan and China, they are different countries and our

EAM Jaishankar reaffirms Quad's commitment towards ensuring peace, security

Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific

Capacity building important facet of India's engagement with Maldives: MEA

Capacity building is an "important component" in India's defence and security engagement with the Maldives and "we will be happy to take it forward" if New Delhi receives a request from Male for training their pilots, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. Randhir Jaiswal, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, made the comment during his weekly briefing in response to a query over reports on issues related to operation of an aviation platform in the Maldives. Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives to operate two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft, used primarily for medical evacuations. The last batch of Indian military personnel were repatriated by May 10, according to the deadline set following an agreement between the two countries in February. The MEA spokesperson said, "Yes, capacity building is an important component in our defence and security engagement with the Maldives. We have in the past trained their personnel on the defence si

LS Polls 2024 updates: BJP releases star candidate list, MEA slams US

Lok Sabha elections 2024: From PM Modi's election campaign in Maharashtra to Rahul Gandhi's bike rally in Odisha, here are the latest updates in politics on May 15

India to sign 10-year agreement with Iran to manage Chabahar Port

Chabahar Port will serve as a vital link connecting India to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the broader Eurasian region

What is stopping govt from cancelling Revanna's passport, asks Congress

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday asked the government what is stopping it from cancelling the diplomatic passport of suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is accused of sexual abuse. The 33-year-old Hassan MP reportedly flew to Germany soon after the Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order a probe into the sexual allegations against him after scores of explicit videos and pictures went viral on social media. In a post on X, Ramesh questioned how Prajwal was allowed to escape. "What is stopping the PM from having the diplomatic passport to Prajwal Revanna cancelled? How and why was he allowed to flee the country like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi were?" the Congress leader asked. Prajwal, the grandson of Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, has been accused of sexual assault after several videos allegedly featuring him with multiple wome

G20 summit satisfying, forging friendships most significant: EAM Jaishankar

If closing out the G20 Summit was the most satisfying moment of his career, the most significant was being associated with "enormous changes in some crucial relationships" such as the US, Australia, UAE and Japan during the last five years, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar says. "These relationships have really changed tremendously in the last five years, last decade. And, the growth of the Quad, again that is something that we tried a decade and a half ago, not succeeded, did it a second time. This time it actually, really worked," Jaishankar told PTI in an exclusive interview at the news agency's headquarters. Jaishankar spoke on a range of issues in the nearly hour-long interview including his view of the world in 10 years from now, the challenges faced by India, and the rising profile of the country in the international arena under his watch. Hosting the G20 Summit last year "wasn't just the hard work", because in many ways the "prestige of the country" was riding on it, he said.

Ready to work with India to find solutions to issues: China's new envoy

China is ready to work with India to "accommodate" each other's concerns and find a mutually acceptable solution to "specific issues" through dialogue at an early date, Beijing's new envoy to New Delhi Xu Feihong has said, remarks that came against the backdrop of the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh. An Assistant Minister ranked official, Xu, 60, appointed by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the sensitive job, said he regards his posting in New Delhi as an honourable mission and a sacred duty to improve and advance the bilateral ties. "It is an honourable mission and a sacred duty. I will do my best to deepen understanding and friendship between the two peoples, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and improve and advance the bilateral relationship," Xu told PTI and China's state-run CGTN-TV in a media interaction here before leaving for New Delhi to take up his posting. "China is ready to work with India to accommodate each other's concerns, find a ...

India, Moldova sign visa waiver pact for diplomatic passports holders

India and Moldova on Friday signed an agreement which after coming into force, will allow diplomatic and official passports holders of either country to travel to the other without a visa, the Ministry of External Affairs said. This agreement will add "further momentum" to the friendly and cordial relations between the two countries, it said. "Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India and Ana Taban, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Moldova, on behalf of their respective governments, signed an agreement on visa waiver for diplomatic and official passports, today on 10 May," the statement said. This agreement, after coming into force "will allow holders of diplomatic and official passports of either country to travel to the other, without a visa", it said.

India seen as 'friendly, fair' as well as 'firm, fiery' nation: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said India today is not only seen across the globe as "friendly and fair" but also as a "firm and fiery" nation that cares for its people and fends for them in crisis situations. Jaishankar made the remarks while speaking on the topic "Viksit Bharat @2047-The Voice of the Youth" at an event at the Delhi University's Hansraj college. He was referring to the rescue operations run by India to bring back its citizens from war-torn countries such as Ukraine. "Viksit Bharat" is not a mere slogan to motivate the people but is the foundation built in the last 10 years upon which the future of India's next 25 years will be built, Jaishankar said while addressing students. "The next 25 years of the 'Amrit Kaal' are your future. It is the journey towards 'Viksit Bharat', and it is you who will make this journey possible," he said. The external affairs minister said that he sees these 25 years as "a period of opportunity and new challenge". "

Within 6 yrs, India achieved 80% financial inclusion: Ruchira Kamboj

'Within six years, India has achieved an 80% financial inclusion rate, a feat that would have taken decades without such digital infrastructure,' she said