Top News

Manila. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to the Philippines to attend various meetings of ASEAN countries and the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, on Thursday met foreign ministers and leaders of several countries including Oman, Britain, Netherlands, Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Brunei. Giving information about these meetings on the social media platform

Jaishankar said he met Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi. During this they exchanged views on recent events in the Gulf region. Both the leaders also agreed to increase contacts.

In his first meeting with British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, Jaishankar congratulated him for his new responsibilities. He wrote on Twitter that it was agreed to build on the positive environment created by the recently implemented India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership.

In a meeting with UNRWA Acting Commissioner-General Christian Saunders, Jaishankar discussed India’s contributions to health and capacity building at the recent donor conference, he said in another post.

He said that the results of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit were discussed in his meeting with Netherlands Foreign Minister Tom Berndtsen. Elevating the relationship between the two countries to the level of strategic partnership has opened up new opportunities for cooperation in areas such as semiconductors, water resources, green hydrogen, health and culture.

In another post, he said that in his meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Jaishankar conveyed good wishes on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He expressed India’s support for the successful Chairmanship of ASEAN and stressed the implementation of the 2025–2029 Action Plan under the India-Philippines Strategic Partnership.

He said bilateral cooperation and partnership under the India-Pacific Islands Cooperation Forum was discussed in his meeting with Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin W Tkachenko. India stands ready to partner with the Pacific Island countries in their development and capacity building priorities and will also support their maritime security.

He said in another post that he met Brunei Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Matin and congratulated him for the new responsibilities. Rapidly changing technologies, such as AI, drones and the digital sector, are opening up new opportunities. The two leaders agreed to pursue bilateral agenda in line with India’s Act East Policy and strengthen multilateral cooperation under ASEAN.

It is noteworthy that Foreign Minister S Jaishankar is on a visit to the South-East Asian country Philippines on 22-23 July. Here he is participating in the ASEAN-India Post-Ministerial Conference, East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Meeting and Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meetings.