Page 48 - Ministry Of External Affairs

As Kochi smog continues for eight days, Muraleedharan slams Kerala CM

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his silence on the ongoing problem of smog that has engulfed

After G20 FMM, New Delhi to host Quad foreign ministers' meeting today

The meeting, to be presided over by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, will be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, and Australia's Penny Wong

Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Chinese counterpart Qin Gang

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held bilateral talks with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang with a focus on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The discussions took place on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. "Met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on sidelines of #G20FMM this afternoon. Our discussions were focused on addressing current challenges to the bilateral relationship, especially peace and tranquillity in the border areas," Jaishankar tweeted. It is the first meeting between Jaishankar and Qin after the latter became the Chinese foreign minister in December. The talks came nearly eight months after Jaishankar held a meeting with the then Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Bali on the sidelines of a G20 meeting. During the one-hour meeting on July 7, Jaishankar had conveyed to Wang the need for early resolution of all the outstanding issues in eastern Ladakh. The external affairs minister had told Wang that

G20 foreign ministers' meeting today: Schedule, agenda, other details here

G20 foreign ministers' meeting: In a video message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the experience of the last few years has shown that global governance failed in its mandates

UK Foreign Minister raises BBC issue, EAM Jaishankar says laws are for all

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday "firmly" told his British counterpart James Cleverly that all entities operating in India must fully comply with relevant laws after the visiting foreign secretary raised the issue of tax searches at BBC's offices. Cleverly, who is on a visit to India to attend a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers, raised the issue during a bilateral meeting with Jaishankar. "UK Foreign Secretary brought up the BBC tax issue with EAM today. He was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations," a source in the Indian government said. Last month, the Income Tax department conducted survey operations at the BBC's offices in Delhi and Mumbai as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion. The tax scrutiny was conducted weeks after the UK-headquartered British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a two-part documentary, "India: The Modi Question", on the prime minister and the 2002 Gujara

EAM Jaishankar holds wide-ranging talks with Russian counterpart Lavrov

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held wide-ranging discussions with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on bilateral cooperation, the Ukraine conflict and issues relating to G-20. The Russian Foreign Minister landed in the national capital on Tuesday night to attend a two-day meeting of the G20 foreign ministers that is taking place amid Russia's escalating confrontation with the Western powers over the Ukraine conflict. "A wide ranging discussion with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia on #G20FMM sidelines. Exchanged views on our bilateral cooperation and G20 issues," Jaishankar tweeted. It is learnt that the Ukraine conflict figured in the talks. Coinciding with Lavrov's visit to India, the Russian foreign ministry said Moscow considers the G20 as a prestigious forum for the world's leading economies where "balanced" and "consensus" decisions should be made in the interests of all. "We support India's G20 presidency in its commitment to promote a unifying agenda tha

G20 foreign ministers' meeting to kick off in Delhi today; all details here

G20 foreign ministers' meeting: Apart from the main event, Delhi will also host a meeting of foreign ministers of the QUAD nations

India and China discuss disengagement at remaining friction points

The two sides agreed to hold the 18th round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols

MEA's geo-economic event 'Asia Economic Dialogue' to be held from Feb 23-25

Ministry of External Affairs' flagship event on geo-economics -- Asia Economic Dialogue -- will be held from February 23-25 in Pune where themes such as global growth prospects and meeting climate targets will be discussed. The Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) is the ministry's annual event and is hosted in collaboration with the Pune International Centre. The principal theme for the Dialogue's seventh edition is Asia and the Emerging World Order', a Ministry of External Affairs statement said. The dialogue will also discuss themes such as global growth prospects; How the Global South will shape the G20 agenda; the Metaverse: Understanding the Future; and Meeting climate targets: The Road Ahead. The inaugural session would be a conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Bhutan's Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering and Maldivian Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer. More than 44 speakers from various countries, including Brazil, the US, the UK, South Africa, Bhutan, ...

Congress calls Jaishankar 'failed' foreign minister on his china remark

The Congress on Wednesday hit out at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, dubbing him as a "failed" minister and alleging that his remarks on China are demeaning the valour of India's armed forces and lowering their morale. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said by saying that "we are the smaller economy and China is the bigger economy and we cannot go and pick a fight with them", Jaishankar has made a "blasphemous" statement. She also accused the external affairs minister of reducing foreign policy to photo-ops and a chest-thumping exercise, alleging that it is being used to secure contracts for a businessman. "What exactly does he mean by saying so. Is he telling us that we are not capable of protecting our territorial sovereignty," she asked, alleging that Jaishankar is a "failed foreign minister". "What he is trying to do by saying this is break and shake the confidence of our Indian Army and demean the valour of our armed forces. This is one of the most blasphemous ...

India will strengthen international bodies to promote Hindi, says MEA

The announcement of the language laboratory was made by Muraleedharan ji. With this, teachers will be able to get training. Right now we are focusing on software

FS Kwatra calls on PM Hasina, reaffirms deeper economic cooperation

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Wednesday called on Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during which he reaffirmed India's support for wider and deeper development and economic partnership with her country. Kwatra arrived here on Tuesday evening from Kathmandu, Nepal, on a two-day visit. "Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra paid a courtesy call on Hon'ble Prime Minister H.E Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka. FS conveyed warm wishes of PM @narendramodi to PM H.E Sheikh Hasina and reaffirmed India's support for wider and deeper development & economic partnership with Bangladesh," the Indian High Commission tweeted. Earlier in the day, Kwatra held talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Masud Bin Momen. "Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra held Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) with @FSMasud of Bangladesh. Both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral partnership including political, security, trade, investment, defence, connectivity, water, power and sub-regional cooperation," the Indian ..

MoS V.Muraleedharan's house in Thiruvananthapuram 'vandalised': Sources

Union MoS for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan's residence in the state capital was found vandalised on Thursday morning with broken window panes and suspected blood stains on the staircase: sources

2 teams of NDRF ready to join rescue operations in Turkey, says MEA

India said it was ready to help Turkey in its hour of crisis after a massive earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck a wide area in the country, said the MEA on Monday

UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi to visit India from Jan 29-31

UNGA President will meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi, while continuing on topics raised during their last meeting in December

Mediterranean region will see more of India in future: Jaishankar

The EAM also mentioned that given how comfortable India and Cyprus are with each other, both countries can also plan on working together in third countries

India unlikely to join Ukraine 'grain corridor', says MEA spokesperson

India is unlikely to join the Ukraine 'grain corridor', the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday, adding bilateral mechanisms are in place for India to extend food grain assistance to several countries in the global south. "We have been extending assistance to countries from the south bilaterally. I don't have any clarity if we will join, probably not, our focus has been on bilateral south-south mechanisms," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said when asked if India is considering joining the grain corridor. "As of now, I don't have intimation that we are looking to join this initiative," he said. The Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian ports, also called the Black Sea Grain Initiative, is an agreement between Russia and Ukraine made with Turkey and the United Nations (UN) during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there was a complete halt of maritime grain shipments from ...

Jaishankar signs defense cooperation agreement with Cyprus on visit

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides here and discussed the full spectrum of bilateral relations and issues of mutual and global interests like the Ukraine conflict, as the two sides signed three agreements, including an MOU on defence and military cooperation. Jaishankar arrived here earlier in the day on his first official visit to Cyprus as the two countries celebrate the 60 years of diplomatic relations. During his visit, Jaishankar met his Cypriot counterpart Kasoulides and signed an agreement on defence and military cooperation, another Letter of Intent on immigration and mobility, as well as the agreement on Cyprus joining the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The two leaders also shared their vision for world peace, freedom, and democracy. Kasoulides said India and Cyprus were driven by their partnership to diversify and deepen the people to people contact. Jaishankar and Kasoulides also took an opportunity to

EAM Jaishankar to visit Cyprus, Austria from Dec 29 to Jan 3: MEA

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the Republic of Cyprus and Austria from December 29 to January 3, an official statement said on Wednesday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in the statement, said the minister will be in Republic of Cyprus (RoC) from December 29 to December 31, 2022. This year marks 60 years of the diplomatic relations between India and Cyprus. During his visit, Jaishankar will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs of RoC, Ioannis Kasoulides and also call on President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou. He will also address the business and investment community of that country, and interact with the Indian diaspora. In Austria, the external affairs minister (EAM) will meet Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, the statement said. This will be the first EAM-level visit from India to Austria in the last 27 years, and it takes place against the backdrop of 75 years of diplomatic ...

Amid soaring Chinese outreach, India needs to enhance development diplomacy

A parliamentary panel has recommended that India needs to review and enhance its developmental diplomacy in view of the increasing Chinese outreach and presence in its neighbourhood. This view of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs is part of the action taken report tabled by the government in Parliament earlier this week. The ministry report was on the panel's observations on the subject Demands for Grants' of the ministry for the year 2022-23. It also dealt with aid allocations to India's neighbouring countries, including Afghanistan and Nepal. "In view of the increasing Chinese outreach and presence in India's neighbourhood, the Committee feel that India needs to review and enhance their developmental diplomacy," the panel said. It further suggested that "a strategy/vision should be formulated to expand our developmental partnership, particularly capacity building and knowledge sharing, to effectively counter the presence of other regional powers in our ...