Page 4 - Bilateral Ties

Jaishankar discusses Ukraine, G20 and UN reforms with Russia's Lavrov

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that he had a wide-ranging conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during which they discussed a number of issues, including bilateral cooperation, the Ukraine conflict, G20 and UN reforms as he described Russia a "major partner in many domains." Jaishankar made the remarks during his interaction with a group of Indian reporters after his meeting with Lavrov on the margins of the UN General Assembly session, just hours before his address to the UN General Debate on Saturday. "We discussed a number of issues. Some part of my meeting was focused on our bilateral cooperation because Russia is a major partner in many domains," Jaishankar said while responding to a question by PTI on his meeting with Lavrov. "A wide-ranging conversation with FM Sergey Lavrov at #UNGA 77. Discussed our bilateral cooperation. Exchanged views on Ukraine, G-20 and UN reforms," Jaishankar had tweeted after his meeting with Lavrov. To another ...

Indian envoy calls on Sri Lankan PM Gunawardena, discusses bilateral issues

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay has called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and discussed wide-ranging bilateral issues, including investments, shared heritage and capacity building in the crisis-hit island nation. India has been the biggest provider of aid this year to its southern neighbour, which is fighting its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades and struggling to pay for imports. The Indian High Commission last week held the first round of talks with the Sri Lankan Government on restructuring the bilateral official debt of the island nation. The discussions symbolise India's support to early conclusion and approval of a suitable IMF Programme for Sri Lanka, for which financing assurances from creditors to make Sri Lanka's debt sustainable are required, it had said in a statement after the talks. "High Commissioner called on H.E PM @DCRGunawardena. Discussed broad ranging bilateral issues of common interest including investments, shared herit

Turkish President Erdogan rakes up Kashmir issue during UNGA address

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday once again raked up the Kashmir issue during his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session here. "India and Pakistan, after having established their sovereignty and independence 75 years ago, they still haven't established peace and solidarity between one another. This is much unfortunate. We hope and pray that a fair and permanent peace and prosperity will be established in Kashmir," Erdogan, a close ally of Pakistan, said at the General Debate. His comment comes less than a week after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on Friday during which they reviewed the full range of bilateral relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in diverse sectors. In recent years, the Turkish leader has referred to the Kashmir issue in his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly sessions, causing

Goyal to visit Saudi for ministerial meet of economic, investment committee

India and Saudi Arabia are expected to formulate a plan of action for strengthening bilateral cooperation in different areas and projects, including the west coast refinery project, an official statement said on Saturday. The issue will come up during the meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman on September 18-19. They would co-chair the inaugural ministerial meeting of the Economic and Investments Committee. The two ministers are expected to discuss the progress made under the various joint working groups of the economic and investment committee, the commerce ministry said. "Both sides are expected to formulate plan of action for further strengthening bilateral cooperation in an array of priority areas and projects, including the West Coast Refinery Project, Trans-ocean grid connectivity, Green Hydrogen, Food security, energy security and pharmaceuticals," it said. They may also accelerate ...

Cyprus hails full lifting of US weapons embargo, focus bilateral ties

Cyprus on Saturday hailed the full lifting of a US arms embargo on the ethnically divided island nation as a milestone reaffirming increasingly tighter bilateral bonds that serve to bolster stability in the turbulent east Mediterranean region. The Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Cyprus-US strategic partnership aims at creating the necessary conditions for regional security and stability. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined Cyprus met the conditions to allow for exports, re-exports and transfers of defense articles .. .for the fiscal year 2023. The US will assess annually whether Cyprus complies with conditions for the embargo lift, including implementing anti-money laundering regulations and denying Russian military vessels access to ports for refuelling and servicing. Cyprus barred Russian warships from using its ports in early March following the invasion of Ukraine. The conditions

Sitharaman participates in roundtable with Singapore, talks bilateral ties

During the meeting, the Ministers emphasised on ways of enhancing cooperation between the two countries in the emerging and futuristic areas.

India deepens strategic autonomy-bonds with SCO, IPEF and Russia

India is the only common member country to be a part of the SCO and the US-driven Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

PM Modi meets Iranian President Raisi; discuss Chabahar port, Afghanistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for the first time in-person on the sidelines of the SCO summit here and the two leaders discussed wide-ranging bilateral ties, reviewed the progress in the development of Chabahar Port and regional developments including Afghanistan. The two leaders are in this historic Uzbek city of Samarkand to attend the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit SCO summit. "Productive first meeting between PM @narendramodi and President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran. Discussed our wide-ranging bilateral relations and reviewed the progress in the development of Chabahar Port. Also discussed international and regional developments including Afghanistan," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet. Iran has been a key country for India in the Gulf region. The two sides have been jointly focusing on improving connectivity between South East Asia and Central Asia. India has been projecting Iran's .

Today's era is not of war, says PM Modi to Russian President Putin

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine, saying "today's era is not of war" even as he called for finding ways to address the global food and energy security crisis. Modi also underlined the importance of democracy, dialogue and diplomacy during a bilateral meeting with Putin that took place on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in this Silk Road city. "Today the biggest worry before the world, especially developing countries, is food security, fuel security, fertilisers. We must find ways on these problems and you will also have to consider it. We will get an opportunity to talk about these issues," Modi said in his opening remarks. On his part, Putin told Modi that he was aware of India's concerns over the Ukraine conflict and that Russia will do everything possible to end it as soon as possible. "I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine. I know about

SCO Summit: PM Modi holds talks with Putin, discuss bilateral issues

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held talks on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). It is the first meeting between the two leaders after the Ukraine conflict broke out in February this year. It is learnt that the two leaders discussed bilateral, regional and global issues. India has not yet criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. New Delhi has been pushing for resolution of the crisis through dialogue.

Explained: What walking out of IPEF's trade pillar means for India

Experts said that opting out is a step in the right direction as India may not be prepared enough to handle negotiations dealing with issues such as labour, environment standards and digital trade

Liz Truss, PM Modi agree on importance of bilateral ties over phone call

British Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and agreed on the vital importance of the India-UK bilateral relationship. In their first phone call since Truss assumed office earlier this week, Modi conveyed his condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of all Indians and paid tribute to the 96-year-old late monarch's lifetime of service. The two leaders said they looked forward to meeting in person in the near future. The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi this afternoon, following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, Downing Street said in a readout of the phone call. "The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Modi for his heartfelt condolences, which he said were on behalf of 1.3 billion Indians. The leaders acknowledged the grief felt by the many people of the UK and India, and paid tribute to Her Majesty the Queen's lifetime of service, the statement said. The two agreed on the vital importance of the UK-Indi

S Jaishankar, Rajnath Singh call on Japan PM to discuss bilateral relations

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday called on Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and underlined the importance of closer coordination of policies and interests of the two nations to ensure peace and stability in the region. Singh and Jaishankar attended the 2+2 Dialogue along with their counterparts from Japan -- Foreign Affairs Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Defence Minister Hamada Yasukazu -- on Thursday. "Pleased to call on PM Fumio Kishida at the conclusion of our 2+2 meeting. Underlined the importance of closer coordination of policies and interests of India and Japan at this time," Jaishankar tweeted. "Expressed confidence that the vision which he and PM @narendramodi have articulated will be realised early," he said. Singh in his tweet said the India-Japan partnership will have a defining role to play in ensuring peace and stability in the region. Singh during the meeting also extended his heartfelt condolences on the "sad .

Piyush Goyal pitches for higher engagements with US to create opportunities

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Wednesday pitched for increasing engagements with the US that will provide new opportunities to India for combating challenges in supply chains

Do India-Bangladesh ties still lack depth?

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina met PM Modi on her visit to India and the two leaders pledged to strengthen economic ties. Find out if ties between the two countries have shaped the way New Delhi wanted

Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar to visit Japan for 2+2 bilateral dialogue: MEA

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will travel to Japan this week to attend the next edition of '2+2' dialogue with their Japanese counterparts, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Tuesday. It said the two sides will further explore new initiatives to strengthen the bilateral partnership. "Defence Minister Rajnath Singh an External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will pay an official visit to Japan for the second India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Meeting from September 7-10," the MEA said in a statement. "During the visit, the ministers will also hold the Defence Ministerial Meeting and Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue with their counterparts, Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi respectively," it said. The MEA said India-Japan special strategic and global partnership is based on shared values of democracy, freedom and respect for rule of law. Singh began a visit to Mongolia on Monday and he wi

India, Bangladesh sign deal on water sharing, six other treaties

Prime Minister Modi and his visiting counterpart Sheikh Hasina say bilateral cooperation between nations growing

Piyush Goyal expresses hope for early conclusion of trade talks with UK

With Liz Truss becoming new prime minister of the UK, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has expressed hope for early conclusion of talks with Britain for a free trade agreement, aimed at boosting bilateral economic ties. "A little bit of political changes may have derailed (conclusion of FTA negotiations) by few weeks, but I do hope (that) with...Liz Truss assuming prime ministership of the UK, we may now be able to make up for some lost time (to conclude the FTA negotiations)," Goyal said here on Monday while addressing members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). Officials in India were looking to conclude the negotiations for the trade agreement by August 31, but political developments in Britain could have slowed the talks a bit. In January, both countries formally launched talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) to boost bilateral trade and investments. It was launched when Boris Johnson was the prime minister and Truss was the international trade

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina arrives in Delhi today to boost bilateral ties

All eyes are set on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to India between September 5 and 8, during which she will have a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi

Jaishankar thanks UAE Prez for taking bilateral ties to greater heights

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday called on President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and appreciated his role in taking the strategic ties between India and the UAE to greater heights. Jaishankar, who is here on a three-day visit, also conveyed personal greetings and warm wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sheikh Mohamed, the ruler of Abu Dhabi. "Thank HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan for receiving me. Conveyed the personal greetings and warm wishes of PM @narendramodi. Highly value his guidance in taking our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to greater heights," he said in a tweet. Earlier, Jaishankar co-chaired the 14th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) along with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Jaishankar arrived here on Wednesday on a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates to review the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. There ha