External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings in Manila. He also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Russia, China, America and Australia and discussed many important issues.
manila [फिलीपींस]July 22 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan over lunch in Manila on Wednesday and exchanged views on regional and global developments.
Sharing details of the conversation, Jaishankar said in a post on
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related foreign ministers’ meetings in Manila, where Jaishankar is participating in several multilateral programs under the ASEAN framework.
Jaishankar is in the Philippines for foreign minister-level meetings, including the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meetings.
Bilateral meetings with other countries also
Ahead of the meeting with his Singapore counterpart, Jaishankar held several high-level bilateral meetings on the sidelines of ASEAN-related meetings.
He met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and reiterated India’s “deep concern” over the safety of Indian sailors following the attack on the commercial ship MV Golden Leo. Four Indian citizens lost their lives in this attack.
“Thoroughly reviewed our bilateral relations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Reiterated our deep concern regarding the safety of Indian sailors in the region,” Jaishankar said in a post on Twitter. He said the two sides also discussed trade and investment, energy and connectivity, science and technology, mobility as well as the Ukraine conflict and the situation in the Gulf.
Jaishankar also held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which he said a stable and cooperative India-China relationship based on “mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity” can make “valuable contributions” to a multipolar Asia and a multipolar world.
He stressed that peace and stability in the border areas remains a prerequisite for normal relations. Recent steps like resumption of direct flights, Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and border trade are welcome, he said, adding that issues like fair market access, trade balance and supply chain predictability also need to be addressed.
The External Affairs Minister later met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which the two leaders discussed priority areas of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, including trade and tariffs, energy, defense and security, critical minerals, and Artificial Intelligence. Apart from this, views were also exchanged on regional, global and multilateral issues.
The meeting coincided with the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, where the four countries reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and support for the centrality of ASEAN.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar met Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Philippines Foreign Secretary Hon. Also met Theresa P. Lazaro.
He said he discussed with Wong the outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Australia and expressed keenness on the Quad meeting.
During his talks with Lazaro, both sides discussed strengthening the India-Philippines strategic partnership, focusing on trade and investment, education, defense and security, maritime cooperation, capacity building and recent developments in the Indo-Pacific. (ANI)
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