Jaishankar discusses global, regional issues with Blinken in Bali

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken here and discussed various global and regional issues.

This year, the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting is being organised by Indonesia.

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said that the present relationship between India and US allows the leaders of both countries to approach a range of challenges with greater understanding and openness.

"Continued the conversation with @SecBlinken on global and regional issues, this time at Bali #G20FMM. Our relationship today allows us to approach a range of challenges with greater understanding and openness," the External Affairs Minister tweeted.

Last month, Jaishankar and Blinken met on the sidelines of the Quad summit in Tokyo. Both leaders had discussed the Ukraine conflict and other regional and global issues.

Jaishankar also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discussed bilateral matters along with exchanging views on contemporary regional and international issues including the Ukraine conflict.

"Met FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia on the sidelines of the Bali G20 FMM. Discussed bilateral matters of mutual interest. Also exchanged views on contemporary regional and international issues including the Ukraine conflict and Afghanistan," he said.

The G20 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The agenda for the G20 Foreign Ministers' meet is to be dominated by the war in Ukraine.

Since the war began in Ukraine, India has been calling for diplomacy and dialogue to address the ongoing conflict.

Moreover, the External Affairs Minister also met UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Senegalese Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall.

During the summit which is set to take place from July 7 to 8, the participating foreign ministers will hold talks on issues of contemporary relevance, such as strengthening multilateralism and current global challenges including food and energy security, read a release by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The External Affairs Minister's participation in the G20 FMM will strengthen India's engagement with G20 member states. As a G20 troika member and as the incoming G20 President, India's role in the upcoming FMM discussions assumes even greater importance, the official statement read.