Vientiane [Laos]July 26 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met foreign ministers from South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the European Union on the sidelines of an ASEAN-related event in Vientiane, Laos on Friday.
The Foreign Minister met with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-ryol, and held wide-ranging discussions on the Special Strategic Partnership.
“I was honoured to meet FMCho Taeyul of the Republic of Korea in Vientiane today. We had a wide-ranging conversation on our Special Strategic Partnership. Our shared understanding in the Indo-Pacific region will also open up new avenues of cooperation,” External Affairs Minister Jaishankar wrote on Twitter.
He also met Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union. The two leaders discussed strengthening India-EU ties in the areas of trade, clean energy transition and advanced technology.
“I am pleased to meet EU Vice President Josep Borrell here in Vientiane. We spoke about the potential for strengthening India-EU partnership in trade, clean energy transition and advanced technologies. We exchanged views on regional and global issues. I thank Vice President Borrell for his friendship and steadfast support for strengthening India-EU ties,” the Foreign Minister said.
The Foreign Minister met his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan and expressed gratitude to Singapore for guiding ASEAN-India relations.
“I had a great conversation with my dear friend, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Bhalla. I thank Singapore for guiding ASEAN-India relations as its Country Coordinator for the last three years. We discussed forging a new agenda for bilateral relations. I also appreciated his thoughts on the current geopolitical situation,” he said.
The Foreign Minister also met Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who congratulated her on her tenure as Foreign Minister and appreciated her contributions to India-Indonesia and India-ASEAN relations.
“Always a pleasure to meet my friend Indonesian Foreign Minister @Menlu_RI. I congratulate her on a fantastic tenure as External Affairs Minister. Her contribution to India-Indonesia and India-ASEAN relations has been remarkable. I had the pleasure of working with her during our G20 Chairmanship,” External Affairs Minister Jaishankar posted.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar met his Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Haji Hasan and discussed initiatives in bilateral ties between the two countries.
“Had a cordial conversation with Malaysian Foreign Minister @tokmatn9 in Vientiane today. We discussed ongoing efforts in our bilateral relationship. I look forward to further strengthening our ties in the next decade of our enhanced strategic partnership,” he said in a subsequent post.
Earlier, Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of an ASEAN-related event in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
A photo shared by the Russian embassy in India showed Jaishankar and Lavrov smiling as they shook hands.
The two leaders had previously met in Astana on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Leaders.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar is visiting Vientiane from July 25-28 and participated in the ASEAN meeting on Friday.
In his speech, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said political, economic and security cooperation with ASEAN was a top priority.
Jaishankar said that for India, ASEAN is the cornerstone of its Act East policy, its Indo-Pacific vision and the people-to-people connectivity which India is constantly striving to expand.
“India’s emphasis on the ASEAN-AS platform was evident from Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Jakarta on the eve of the G20 summit last year. He announced a 12-point plan which has been largely implemented,” he said.
Minister Jaishankar thanked Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan for his congratulations on his reappointment and said he looked forward to working with him in the future. He also appreciated Balakrishnan’s role as Country Coordinator.
The foreign minister said he was pleased to see ASEAN’s partnership becoming more multifaceted every year. “ASEAN’s achievements are great, but our ambitions must remain high,” he said.
He welcomed Timor-Leste as an observer at the meeting. “Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that we would open an embassy in Delhi. We will soon get started on opening our embassy and in fact we will also have a high-level visit,” Jaishankar said, adding that he looked forward to further discussions. “I am extremely grateful to you all for strengthening ASEAN-India relations through substantive and concrete cooperation as identified in the ASEAN-India Plan of Action,” Jaishankar said.
Brunei’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Brunei counterpart Haji Erywan on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday and unveiled a logo marking 40 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The ASEAN Post-Ministerial Meeting with India was held in Vientiane on Friday and was attended by ASEAN foreign ministers, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General of the ASEAN Political-Security Community Astana Abdul Aziz. Timor-Leste attended as an observer.
The meeting reaffirmed the two sides’ determination to further strengthen the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in the coming years by continuing the robust implementation of the ASEAN-India Plan of Action and its annexes, and by preparing a successor document that will guide both sides in realizing the full potential of the CSP over the next five years.
The two ministers also exchanged views on several regional and international issues of common interest and concern. (ANI)
