Mea

India keeps watch on developments concerning its security, says MEA

Speaking on the issue, Arindam Bagchi said without naming anyone, India keeps constant watch on all developments bearing India's security and takes all necessary measures to safeguard the same

Legal process for former Indian Navy sailors in Qatar started: MEA

India has been given consular access to the eight men on a couple of occasions, and some of their relatives were allowed to meet them

MEA rejects China's attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh

India has outrightly rejected China's attempt to rename places of Arunachal Pradesh, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said

West has bad habit of commenting on others, thinks it has right: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the West has had a "bad habit" for a long time, of commenting on others, and it thinks it has a "God-given right" to speak about the internal matters of other countries. He said this during a 'Meet and Greet' interaction organised by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan with over 500 young voters, joggers and visitors at Cubbon Park here. The Minister was responding to a question on Germany and United States' remarks on the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament. "There are two reasons. It is because the West has had a bad habit for a long time of commenting on others. They somehow think it is some kind of God-given right. They will have to learn only by experience that if you keep doing this, other people will also start commenting and they will not like it when it happens. I see that happening," Jaishankar said. He said, "The second part of the truth -- i

India is firm, won't accept its national flag being pulled down: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said India was not a country that would put up with its national flag being pulled down by somebody; it was "very responsible" along with being "very firm". Referring to the incident last month in London where a group of protesters waving separatist Khalistani flags and chanting pro-Khalistani slogans pulled down the tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission, he said an even bigger flag was immediately put up on the building to make a statement to both the Khalistanis and to the British. "You have seen in the last few days some incidents in London, something in Canada, a little bit in Australia and San Francisco... This is not an India which will accept its national flag being pulled down by somebody," Jaishankar said. Speaking at an interactive session here, he said, "The first thing our High Commissioner did when it happened: he got an even bigger flag and he put it right up there on that building. It was not only a statemen

For over 30 mn Indians, entire world is a workplace: EAM S Jaishankar

He also said that when the world economy is struggling to recover after COVID pandemic, India has achieved 7 per cent growth rate

Will make efforts to get economic fugitives to face justice in India: MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said it would continue to make all efforts to get economic fugitives, including Mehul Choksi, to face justice in India. The name of Choksi, who is wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,000 crore bank fraud in the Punjab National Bank, was dropped from the Red Corner Notice list, a move that grants him freedom to freely travel out of Antigua and Barbuda, where he is holed up after fleeing from India in 2018. "On the issue of Mehul Choksi...let me just take the larger point. Our focus is on getting economic fugitives to face justice in India and we will continue to make all efforts in this regard," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters here. In a statement on Tuesday, the CBI said it has taken up with the Commission for Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) the serious shortcomings, procedural violations, overreach of mandate and mistakes committed by CCF in the manner of reaching this unfounded and perfunctory

Expect action, not assurances on vandalism incident at Indian missions: MEA

India on Friday said it expects to see action against the perpetrators of vandalism at its missions abroad and hoped the host governments would prosecute those involved in these incidents instead of holding out assurances. Addressing the weekly briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said New Delhi also expects the host governments to take measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Indian missions in London, British Columbia, and San Francisco were vandalised recently, allegedly by pro-Khalistan activists following the police action against radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab. "I think we are not just interested in assurances, I think we would like to see action," the External Affairs Ministry spokesman said. Bagchi said India had raised the issue with the authorities in Canada, where the Indian High Commissioner was forced to cancel an event appearance. "It is our expectation that in any country our diplomats can perform their legitimate and norm

Parliamentary panel for allocating 1% of total Union Budget to MEA

The panel said the MEA remains one of the least funded central ministries as its revised budget hover around just 0.4 per cent of the total budgetary allocation of the government from 2020-21

No change in India's position on not recognising Taliban, says MEA

India on Thursday asserted that there has been no change in its position on not recognising the Taliban regime in Kabul, in comments that came amid reports of an Afghan foreign policy body asking officials to attend an online programme under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) initiative. The Institute of Diplomacy under the Afghan Foreign Ministry reportedly conveyed to officials in Kabul to register for the ITEC course which was to be hosted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode. At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said that the Indian side does not issue any note verbales to any entities that are not recognised by New Delhi. A letter issued by the Institute of Diplomacy to informing officials about the ITEC programme also referred to a note verbale from the Indian embassy in Kabul on the course. However, Bagchi said there is no question of sending such communication entities that are not ...

Efforts on to secure release of former Navy personnel from Qatar: MEA

India on Thursday said it attaches "high priority" to secure early release of eight former Indian Navy personnel who are in detention in Qatar for over six months. The Qatari authorities have not yet publicly made any charges against the Indians who were working for private firm Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services. "We attach high priority to the matter. There are continuous efforts by our embassy for resolution of the matter so that early return and repatriation can take place of the detained Indian nationals," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at his weekly media briefing. He was responding to a question on the matter. "Our embassy has been seeking consular access. I think one more request is pending so that they can ascertain the welfare and well-being of our nationals and the family meetings and family visits are continued to be facilitated," Bagchi said. Indian officials have been given consular access to the eight men on a number of ..

Pakistan engaging in hostile propaganda against India, says MEA report

There is no let-up in Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism and Islamabad is yet to show sincerity in delivering justice to the families of the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a report on Monday. In its annual report for 2022, the MEA also said that Pakistan continues to engage in "hostile and fabricated propaganda" to vilify India and to divert attention from its domestic political and economic failures. It said India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan and New Delhi's consistent position has been that issues, if any, should be resolved bilaterally and peacefully, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence. At the same time, it said the onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive environment. "Pakistan continues to engage in hostile and fabricated propaganda to vilify India, and to divert attention from its domestic political and economic failures," it said. "India has completely and unequivocally .

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

It is a propaganda piece: India on BBC documentary on Gujarat riots

Bagchi said the documentary is a reflection on the agency and individuals that are peddling "this narrative" again

India, UK to launch Young Professionals Scheme on February 28, says MEA

The MEA statement said that India and the UK share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with the adoption of Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations

Jammu and Kashmir is 'integral and inalienable' part of India: MEA

India asserted on Thursday that Jammu and Kashmir is its "integral and inalienable" part in the face of certain comments on the region by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. "We have reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir is an inalienable and integral part of India. Article 370 is entirely a matter of India as well as our Constitution. It is our sovereign matter," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a media briefing. "We do not see what is their locus on this," he said when asked about Sharif's tweet on Thursday urging the global community to play its part in "giving" the people of Kashmir their "right to decide their destiny". Sharif also referred to India's decision to withdraw the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. On August 5, 2019, India announced the withdrawal of the special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and its decision to bifurcate the erstwhile state into Union territories. Till then, Jammu and Kashmir had enjoyed the special status that

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 ...

Want visa system to be simple, swift: MEA on 1,000-day US visa wait

Amid reports that people in India seeking a tourist or business visa for the US may have to wait for three years to get one, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said it has not raised the matter with the country, but expects the visa system of a country to be predictable and less time taking. According to media reports, those planning to visit the United States on visitor visas - B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) - will have to wait for nearly three years and the waiting time for applicants in India is close to 1,000 days. Asked if the matter had been taken up with the US, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We want that when people want to go somewhere, the visa system should be simple. This is our expectation." He said it had not been taken up formally because "we would not want someone commenting on our system." "But we would want the system to be predictable, simple and does not take much time. We have seen the (US) embassy here has said that they are taking steps to .

Delhi Police arrests MEA driver on charges of espionage: Report

Delhi Police's Crime Branch team has arrested a driver working in the Ministry of External Affairs on charges of espionage for allegedly leaking confidential details to a Pakistan-based person, sources said on Friday. According to a source, the arrest was made on Friday from the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan here. The suspect allegedly used to pass confidential and sensitive information related to national security to a person based in Pakistan. The source said the driver was honey trapped by an ISI person who pretended to be a woman when he spoke with him. Police, however, refused to share any details of the case citing concerns over national security.

India raises strong objection to US envoy's visit to Pak-occupied Kashmir

India also objected to the ambassador holding some meetings there