S Jaishankar Holds Bilateral Meetings in New York

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended several bilateral meetings during his visit to New York for the 81st UN General Assembly session. He met with foreign ministers from various countries to discuss regional and global issues, including the Ukraine crisis and Gulf tensions.

Jaishankar began his engagements with a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen their Special Global Strategic Partnership through regular communication. They also exchanged views on UN Security Council reform.

He later met Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Roberto Kury to focus on economic ties, particularly in energy, pharmaceuticals, and multilateral cooperation. Jaishankar emphasized the importance of expanding bilateral relations during their discussion.

In meetings with Slovakian Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar and Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Anita Orban, Jaishankar explored opportunities to deepen multilateral cooperation and strengthen bilateral ties between India and these countries.

Jaishankar also held talks with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and Nauru President David Adeang. With Switzerland, the focus was on reviewing progress under the recently signed India-EFTA Trade Agreement. With Nauru, they discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation and multilateral collaboration.

Earlier in his trip, Jaishankar participated in the first Visegrád Group (V4) and India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The group agreed to expand cooperation in areas like technology, defense, education, and people-to-people ties. They also decided to establish an annual business forum and hold regular foreign minister meetings.

Throughout his discussions, Jaishankar highlighted India’s commitment to strengthening partnerships and addressing global challenges through multilateral collaboration.