Jaishankar holds wide-ranging bilateral meetings on sidelines of UN General Assembly
New York, Sep 24 – External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a series of high-level bilateral meetings with his counterparts from across the globe on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, engaging in discussions that spanned bilateral relations, regional developments and pressing global conflicts.
As per agency report, Jaishankar began his ministerial engagements in New York on Tuesday evening with a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel, where the two leaders exchanged views on Europe’s strategic landscape and India’s perspective on it. He later held talks with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, during which he appreciated Denmark’s outlook on the ongoing Ukraine conflict and recent European developments. The discussions also covered cooperation between India and the European Union under Denmark’s presidency of the EU Council.
In his meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Wijitha Herath, Jaishankar reviewed the progress of ongoing bilateral cooperation. He also interacted with Mauritian Foreign Minister Ritesh Ramful, where the focus was on follow-up measures after the recent state visit of Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam to India. His talks with Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel reaffirmed India’s steadfast commitment to supporting the Maldives’ development agenda.
The Indian minister also held separate discussions with the foreign ministers of Lesotho, Suriname, Somalia, Saint Lucia and Jamaica. In his meeting with Jamaica’s Kamina J Smith, he extended congratulations on her reappointment as Foreign Minister and conveyed India’s intent to further strengthen the India-Jamaica partnership. Additionally, Jaishankar engaged in an exchange with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan during a high-level meeting of Global South countries.
Beyond his interactions with national counterparts, Jaishankar met Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of Dubai-based multinational logistics company DP World, to deliberate on current developments in the global economy and their impact on connectivity and logistics. He also joined an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers hosted by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, where participants engaged in an open exchange of views on multilateralism, India-EU ties, the Ukraine conflict, the situation in Gaza, as well as issues relating to energy and trade.
Jaishankar is scheduled to deliver his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 27.
