Page 18 - Ministry Of External Affairs

Parl panel stresses on need for financial allocations to MEA: Report

Observing that India's "growing stature" on global arena requires consistent and predictable investments in diplomatic, economic and cultural engagements, a parliamentary panel has stressed on the need for consistent and predictable financial allocations to the MEA and recommend that key areas be protected from budgetary cuts. The panel in its report has also mentioned that India's budgetary allocation under the sub-head 'Aid to Bangladesh' came down from Rs 200 crore in BE 2023-24 to Rs 120 crore in BE 2024-25, and the MEA has said that the "downward trend" is due to the completion of large infrastructure projects and the ongoing "political and security situation" in that country. The 'Fourth Report of the Committee on External Affairs (2024-25) on Demands for Grants (2024-25) of the Ministry of External Affairs' was presented in Parliament on Monday. "Observing disparities between Budget Estimates (BEs) and Revised Estimates (REs) over the years, the Committee has been recommendin

Duke of Edinburgh, UK's Prince Edward arrives in India on 3-day visit

During his visit Prince Edward is scheduled to travel to Mumbai and Delhi to promote The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award

India experienced remarkable transformation in last decade: UNGA Prez Yang

India has experienced remarkable transformation in the last decade, UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang has said, underlining that his upcoming visit to the country will give him an opportunity to see how digital and technological innovation has fuelled this change. Yang will visit India from February 4 to 8, his first official visit to the country as President of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. As the world's largest democracy, the fifth-largest economy and home to one-fifth of humanity, India is an important member of the United Nations, Yang told PTI in an exclusive interview ahead of his trip. Responding to a question on the visit's focus, Yang said he looks forward to understanding, more deeply, India's priorities and vision for the future of multilateralism. During the visit, he will engage with Indian leadership, including President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. Recalling that he had visited India in 2013 as Prime Ministe

Bangladesh gets 16,000 tonnes of rice from India despite tensions

Notwithstanding the tense relations between India and Bangladesh ever since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year, a second consignment of rice from India arrived at Mongla Port on Saturday, a media report said. Two ships carrying 16,400 tonnes of rice arrived at the port in the morning, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. Bangladesh is set to receive 300,000 tonnes of rice from India under an agreement, with 40 per cent of it being unloaded at Mongla Port and the rest at Chittagong Port, according to the Mongla Food Controller's Office. The Panama-flagged vessel BMC Alpha arrived from Odisha's Dhamra Port carrying 7,700 tonnes of rice while the Thailand-flagged MV Sea Forest arrived from Kolkata Port with 8,700 tonnes. The first consignment under this open tender import from India arrived on January 20, when the Vietnam-flagged vessel MV Puthan-36 brought 5,700 tonnes of rice, according to the report. A few days ago, Bangladesh's interim governme

MEA gets Rs 20,516 cr in Budget 2025, aid to Bhutan highest at Rs 2,150 cr

In line with India's 'neighbourhood first' policy, Bhutan was on Saturday allocated the largest share of Rs 2,150 crore as development aid in the Union Budget for 2025-26 followed by Rs 700 crore to Nepal and Rs 600 crore to the Maldives. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was allocated a total of Rs 20,516 crore as against the current fiscal's budget estimate of Rs 22,154 crore and revised estimate of Rs 25,277 crore. Like for 2024-25, an amount of Rs 100 crore has been set aside for the Chabahar port project. Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran's southern coast, the Chabahar port is being developed by India and Iran to boost connectivity and trade ties. The total overseas development partnership portfolio for 2025-26 has been pegged at Rs 6,750 crore, which is nearly 33 per cent of the allocation made to the MEA. The outlay for overseas development assistance is an increase of about 20 per cent over current fiscal's allocation of Rs 5,667 ...

Grateful to MEA for this opportunity: Foreign diplomats on Mahakumbh visit

Diplomats from around the world expressed their excitement and gratitude to India for the opportunity to experience it's rich cultural heritage firsthand at Mahakumbh

News updates: FM gives final touches to her record eighth Budget

Latest News Updates LIVE: Catch all the major news updates from around the world

9 Indians killed in road accident in Saudi Arabia; MEA condoles deaths

The Indian consulate in Jeddah has assured full support to the victims' families and is coordinating with local authorities

MEA rejects Canada's 'interference' claim, accuses Trudeau govt of meddling

The Ministry of External Affairs has outrightly rejected these claims, countering that Canada has been persistently interfering in India's internal affairs

MoS Margherita meets Ambassadors of Thailand, Myanmar, Dominican Republic

Margherita held talks on further deepening the relations of India with these countries

India, China agree to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in 2025: MEA's secy

India and China on Monday decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as the two sides agreed to take certain people-centric steps to "stabilise and rebuild" ties. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said this following Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's talks with his Chinese counterpart Sun Weidong in Beijing. It said the two sides also agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries. "As agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan in October, the two sides reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilize and rebuild ties," the MEA said. "In this context, the two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025," it said. The MEA said the two sides also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China expert level mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other

EAM Jaishankar begins three-day UAE visit to strengthen bilateral ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday embarked on a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to further enhance India's comprehensive strategic partnership with the influential Gulf nation. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Jaishankar will meet the leadership of the UAE to review the close partnership between the two countries. "The external affairs minister will meet the leadership of the UAE to review the close partnership between the two countries and explore avenues to further enhance the bilateral relationship," it said. It said the visit will provide an opportunity to "advance" the India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership and "add new momentum" to the ties. During Jaishankar's trip, the two sides are also expected to review the situation in Gaza following the coming into force of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. India-UAE bilateral ties have been on an upswing in the last few years. Following the landmark visit of Prime Ministe

India, Indonesia to boost defence, trade ties, jointly counter terrorism

India and Indonesia on Saturday agreed to give a new momentum to the overall bilateral ties and especially concurred on working jointly in the areas of defence manufacturing and supply chains, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for wide-ranging talks. Subianto, on a three-day visit to India, will be the chief guest at the Republic-Day celebrations at Kartavya Path on Sunday. In his media statement following the talks, Modi described Indonesia as an "important partner" of India in the 10-nation ASEAN bloc as well as in the Indo-Pacific, noting that both countries are committed to a rules-based order in the region. "We agree that the freedom of navigation should be ensured in line with international law," Modi said amid growing global concerns over China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific region. "We held extensive discussions on various aspects of our bilateral ties," the prime minister said, adding that India and ...

Updates: Proud to honour extraordinary achievements of Padma awardees, says PM Modi

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Keeping a close watch on neighbours: India as ISI officials visit B'desh

Against the backdrop of an increase in engagement between Bangladeshi and Pakistani military officials, India on Friday said it keeps a close watch on developments in the neighbourhood having a bearing on national security and takes "appropriate" action if required. Pakistani spy agency ISI's Director General of Analysis Maj Gen Shahid Amir Afsar and certain other officials are currently visiting Bangladesh, according to reports. The visit to Dhaka by the Pakistani military officials came after a delegation of Bangladeshi military officials toured Pakistan and held meetings with the three service chiefs. "We keep an eye on all activities around the country and in the region, as well as all activities affecting national security, and the government will take appropriate steps," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question at his weekly media briefing. He said India's approach towards Bangladesh has been to maintain friendly ties. "We support

Looking for bolder, bigger and more ambitious relationship with US: India

India on Friday said it is looking for "bolder, bigger and a more ambitious" relationship with the US and indicated its readiness to work with the Trump administration to address issues like illegal immigration and trade. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India's approach has always been to address issues in a constructive manner in line with interests of both the countries. Like in many countries, there have been some concerns in India as well over the Trump administration's approach on immigration and tariff. President Trump has already talked about slapping "100 per cent tariffs" on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India as well. We remain in close communication with the US administration and would like to continue to work towards strengthening our economic partnership further, Jaiswal said. India is focused on building "bolder, bigger and a more ambitious" relationship with the US, he added. Referring to India's ongoing dialogue with the US

Will take back Indian illegal immigrants, says MEA amid Trump crackdown

During a weekly press briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We are against illegal immigration, especially because it is linked to several forms of organised crime"

EAM Jaishankar meets Indonesian president Subianto ahead of Republic Day

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto gracing the upcoming Republic-Day celebrations as the chief guest will be a fitting celebration of the cherished friendship between India and Indonesia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. Jaishankar made the comments after meeting the visiting leader. The Indonesian president arrived here on Thursday night on a three-day visit, primarily to attend India's 76th Republic-Day celebrations at Kartavya Path on Sunday. "Pleased to call on President Prabowo Subianto @prabowo of Indonesia at the start of his State Visit to India," Jaishankar said on X. "Value his guidance and positive sentiments for the development of our multifaceted bilateral ties. President @prabowo's participation as Chief Guest in India's 76th Republic Day will be a fitting celebration of our cherished friendship," the external affairs minister added. The Indonesian leader will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. The entire

Indonesian President Subianto arrives in India to attend Republic Day

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived here on Thursday night on his first visit to India as the head of state. Subianto is in Delhi primarily to grace the 76th Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest. The Indonesian president was welcomed at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita. "A warm welcome to President Prabowo Subianto @prabowo of Indonesia as he arrives in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 'X'. "This visit will further strengthen India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," he said. Both sides are expected to firm up several pacts to expand cooperation in a number of areas during Subianto's visit. He will be the fourth Indonesian president to attend India's Republic Day celebrations. Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, was the chief guest at India's first Republic Day celebrations in 1950. A 352-member marching and band contingent from

Committed to Quad, open to return of illegal immigrants: Jaishankar in US

Initiatives spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump have matured, paving the way for an ambitious future US-India partnership, said EAM S Jaishankar